


The Stark Family

by TonyStarkissist



Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Abusive Richard Parker', Alternate Universe - Criminals, Angst, Anti-Hero, BAMF Pepper Potts, BAMF Peter Parker, BAMF Tony Stark, Big Brother Harley Keener, Confident Peter Parker, Cuddling & Snuggling, Dark Past, Dysfunctional Relationships, F/M, Family Drama, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Found Family, Good and Evil, Happy's the babysitter again, Harley Keener Is A Dork, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt Tony Stark, I know all these angsty whumpy tags look depressing but i promise its just a few chapters, Irondad, Italian Mafia, Its mostly just self-indulgent fluff, Kid Peter Parker, Mafia AU, Mamabear Pepper, Mental Health Issues, No Superpowers AU, Other, Panic Attacks, Parent Pepper Potts, Parent Tony Stark, Past Child Abuse, Pepper potts is a good mom, Pepperony - Freeform, Peter Parker Calls Tony Stark "Dad", Precious Peter Parker, Protective Harley Keener, Protective Pepper Potts, Protective Tony Stark, PsychopathicTendencies, Self-Harm, Self-Hatred, Sometimes theyre the same thing, Suicidal Thoughts, Timid Harley Keener, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Does What He Wants, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Has Daddy Issues, Tony Stark Has Issues, Tony Stark Will Rule The World, Tony Stark being an overprotective dad, Tony Stark is a Good Dad, Tony Stark-centric, Torture, Uncle Rhodey, Villain Tony Stark, anger issues
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-16
Updated: 2020-04-20
Packaged: 2020-05-13 03:21:16
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 30
Words: 206,028
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19242784
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TonyStarkissist/pseuds/TonyStarkissist
Summary: Attachment, he remembered his father saying to him as a child,Attachment will be man's downfall. It is treasured by the weak and has no place in a strong man's heart.“Love will get you nowhere, Anthony. It will only set you back from your goal. It is a roadblock and a distraction. It will weaken your resolve; manipulate you to second guess the way things should be. It is a weakness. And Stark men are not weak.”And for years, Tony had genuinely believed it.That is until now… now that he can experience for himself what this all encompassing feeling of love is. Now that he can experience the unrelenting drive to protect, preserve, and provide.And he’s found that, yes, his father was absolutely correct. His love for his family will always be his greatest weakness…… but he’s found that he’s only ever at his strongest when he has something worth fighting for.





	1. Prologue

**_An old Cherokee told his grandson:_ **

**_"My son, there's a battle between two wolves inside us all._ **

**_One is Evil._ **

**_It's anger, jealousy, greed, resentment, inferiority, lies, and ego._ **

**_The other is Good._ **

**_It's joy, peace, love, hope, humility, kindness, and truth."_ **

**_The boy thought about it and said:_ **

**_"Grandfather, which will win?"_ **

**_The old man replied quietly:_ **

**_"The one you feed_ **."

* * *

 

 

* * *

One man’s ambition is all it had taken to change the course of human history as we know it.

Edward Stark, the founder of a long-lived legacy that has carried an irrefutable sense of integrity and power through countless generations. He was the beginning; the source of genius and creation for the idyllic society the world would one day fall into subjection to.

He was the beginning of an idea; an initiative. He was a visionary, an innovator, and he had an understanding of people. A deeper grasp that drove him to a conclusion most people fought to ignore. He was a man of science and study, and the longer he lived and the more he observed, the more confidence he held in the timely fact that the human race would bring upon its own destruction. The path they were headed was one of pain, suffering, and sin, and unless something changed, there would be no escaping the everlasting annihilation awaiting them at the end of their journey.

The balance of the world was unstable. The balance of Good and Evil had been manipulated and exploited. The battle of Love and Hate was growing deceitful, and the more time that passed, the worse these conditions became. People had grown oblivious and careless to the growing distress of the world. Humans were evolving in a way science couldn’t explain. Things only seemed to grow worse; people were growing worse, and the problems were becoming more than abundant.

There was one feature that Edward found the most disheartening. People only remember the bad. It took so little effort on a man’s part to be remembered. One moment of pure wickedness is all it required for their name to be written down in history books for generations to come, while the good deeds of those still sticking to the dwindling morals remaining in society faded away in the background. Very rarely did a pure an honest man make an imprint on society. No one is ever remembered for the good they do; it is always the bad. No matter how hard a person might try, no amount of good could make their bad go away. So, in this sense, there is no balance. There is either a person who is good who fights to do good, but happens to do bad, or there is a person who is bad and who masks his bad with good. Hence, there is always bad.

Then there are those times when one does happen to break through the confines of societal norms and accomplish something so mind-bogglingly great. Which is exactly what it needed to be to push through the shadows of the wickedness of humans, because that _is_ where all the problems reside, is it not? All good men come to an end far sooner than their counterparts ever do. Assassinated, murdered, forgotten, overwritten by a corrupt figure with a hidden agenda and a twisted sense of morality. Edward Stark saw it happen; he saw good men torn down simply because they had a passion and a strong inclination to do what they knew was right. His father had been one of them.

Soon, the world would be overrun by men unfit for its power. They will be believed to be good, even though they are bad; and that is far worse than just simply being _bad_. Innocent, oblivious, kindhearted people will be drawn in, coaxed, prodded, and manipulated in such a way to where they will trust and trust and trust until any and all forms of self and free-thinking is torn away. That is the direction the world was headed. That had been Stark's belief. 

Of course, at that time, his name hadn't yet been printed out in the biased history books of the world, but he knew the impact he already had. He was _bad_ ; people knew that. They knew what to expect of him, they knew when they could trust him and when they could not, because despite the things he did… he was still an honest man. He had seen governments fall, lie, manipulate, and steal from the people, but the people were too blinded by the despicable lie that the rich and powerful knew what was best for all men. It was a false sense of security, and for some reason… Stark felt that was so much worse than simply being known to be _bad_. There needed to be some semblance of accountability; somewhere to place an undeniable blame.  

So, instead of wallowing in his own self-pity Edward took advantage of the corrupt regime and he built up a name and a reputation for himself by means of faulty ideals. People knew what he did, they knew what he was capable of, but thanks to the "justice" system of the world, it was just so, so, so easy to get away with it all. Life was so much simpler when you learn to bend the rules.

This didn't take any longer than a year of dedication and hard work before his name itself became a household conversational topic, and to have sent chills down the spines of police captains and small packed crime families throughout all of Eastern Europe. They knew him; everyone knew him. He was the Al Capone before any Al Capones. People bowed at the back to bend to his will. He had influence in places no corrupt man like him should have… he was a legend. 

The famous Stark was known for his irresistible charisma and unparalleled schemes born from his genius, masterminded intuition. He gained supporters, followers. He basked in the glory and power, and it wasn't long before he was famous for the conniving, ruthless, unforgiving torment he inflicted on both the citizens of his hometown and his own powerful organization of followers. Any sense of morality he had felt before had been wiped away by the unending gnawing in his stomach for more, more, and more. It is what had been expected from a man of his high and lofty position; corruption and a hunger for power.

He killed and he stole, and at every waking moment, he was forced to watch over his shoulder. He couldn’t risk a double-cross, or a single mistake, because men like him… they very rarely lasted that long. Just like the good, the _bad_ was weeded out just as quickly (for far different reasons of course). He was incredibly careful, almost too careful. Too many people were setting out to kill for the power and money he possessed. His genius and quick thinking quickly rode he and his men to the top of the societal food chain, side-by-side the Carbonell Family. Both families had authority higher than anyone else in all of Italy, and very few ever dared to challenge the Starks’ intellect, or physical capabilities, including the governmental authorities. It was a new breed of evil, and chills were sent running down the spines of anyone brave enough to go against their rules. They were the best of the best… He was the best of the best. That was the only way the man could have lasted as long as he had during their bloody, relentless war against the Carbonells - a crime family that had lasted for generations far older than Stark’s father’s father.

Then, Leonard Stark had been born by the means of a poor prostitute in order to take his father’s place at the head of the organization when the great Edward Stark was no longer capable, because the man had to make sure his name lived. He had to make sure it lived on and continued to reign in power and drive fear into their enemies’ hearts. To thrive and create a world society couldn’t even begin to fathom, and Leonard Stark was the perfect genius child to instill those wishes of his father. The elder Stark taught his son all he needed to know, and the boy showed no apprehension about the unfortunate sacrifices that had to be made. His reputation quickly rose to sit right beside his father.

The older Stark had lasted longer than anyone could have expected. The sixty-three-year-old man died at the hands of his very own right-hand man; Shot in the back, both physically and metaphorically. He was the one person Edward Stark had ignorantly turned his better judgment against, blinded by the trust developed from their childhood friendship. A traitor is what the man had been, and the young Stark boy was still barely a man at the age of 19 when he inherited his father’s fortune. But Leonard carried on the Stark Family name with grace and without mercy, just as he had been taught from a young age. The organization spread to all corners of Europe to avenge their Father because the Great Leo Stark never took ‘no’ for an answer, and he was going to do everything in his power to live up to the expectations his father had for him.

The young man had a knack with knives and a rattily patience, or so the legend says. He found himself in prison more often than not in his early years, but soon after the fifth arrest, Leonard learned how to hide in plain sight out of necessity… and he was never arrested again. 

He grew more ruthless, and obsessed the longer he remained in a higher authority. Going far beyond any of the very few morals his father might have still possessed before his passing.

Leonard ingrained these traits into his own son, Howard, at an early age, and the boy was too ignorant to know any better. His mother had been killed as a young child. Speculation revolved around the murder, and most believed it was Leonard Stark himself that had committed the act after the woman had borne him an heir, but none were able to prove it or act upon their suspicions out of fear of what would become of them if they accused such a powerful man. So, Howard Stark was raised amongst his father’s companions, without the tender love and affection from a mother to cultivate compassion and mercy. He was treated with the respect of a prince from an early age, and it wasn’t long before he learned how to demand it. He was a Stark after all. He was a determined boy; determined to please his father and to allow his genius to flourish in order to bring pride to the Stark name.

His first kill was rumored to be his best friend after his father discovered the distraction and innocently young-minded opinions the boy had been corrupting his son with. The 8-year-old Stark had come home with a question bouncing around in his mind, and he just _needed_ to ask his father: _should we really hurt good people? Doesn’t that make us worse?_ The instruction to kill and the forced execution calloused the young Stark, and he grew to be a cold-hearted young man, just as his father, forgetting any notion of a label revolving around the words ‘good’ or ‘bad’.

Leonard Stark was power-hungry. He was set on appeasing only a part of his father’s last wish in allowing the organization he birthed to survive and thrive in their homeland of Italy; to inflict fear on the people deserving of it. Edward Stark’s claimed focus was of the future generations, the innovations, the contributions to making the world a place where humanity could thrive without being restricted by the morals set in place by society and corrupt governments around the globe. Where intelligence and respect flourished for those deserving of the power. Leo’s focus had always been drawn away from the outcome of the future and became plagued with the money, the power, the respect, and fear in the now. He wanted it all for himself. He thrived off it, and his son learned by example to do the same. Soon, the two acquired an estate that would satisfy their families for generations to come, but it was never enough to appease their greed.

Father and son moved a small portion of their men to America, set on expanding their enterprise to one of the most prosperous countries in the world with innumerable opportunities awaiting them. They were consumed by the procurement of money and fear. It blindsided them to the trials and tribulations that would confront them by attempting this venture. They wanted more, and so that’s what they fought for. Their numbers grew quickly, and they fought a bloody war behind the scenes of American society. The American people were torn between their homes and the war they fought for their allies. The people were passionate, less driven by fear, and more driven by their morals and insistence of freedom. This only leads to Leo Stark’s inevitable downfall during WWII after turning his back on the “ _meager peasants incapable of doing much else than fighting a war that didn’t belong to them_ ”. They had had enough of Leonard Stark’s unrelenting control.

Following his death came a time of intense chaos, and their home base was nearly in shambles in the aftershock of the loss of their dear leader. This drove numerous Italian crime families to America in hopes of taking charge while the last of the true Stark blood was down, lying belly-up in the American soil during the grieving of his father. It split the enormous organization into pieces at the loss of their leader and fear of the weaknesses that had been exposed. Factions broke off, set on developing their own estate by their own means, and soon a war broke out within the Stark Family, splitting the organization into two equally terrifying parts. Shield was the one to come out victorious in the end.

Outraged by this, Howard Stark hurdled forward, taking his rightful place at the head of his grandfather’s and father’s organization. His innovative weapons and strategies fueled his men and his own desires. He depended on his gift of knowledge to build his people back to the top, just as his grandfather had in the past. He had lost his father, and he had lost more than half of his father’s faithful men. He and the organization had hit rock bottom, but that wasn’t enough to deter him from his and his father’s goal. He appointed Edwin Jarvis as his second in command and spurred onward. He made a deal with the American government; creating specialized weapons and offering men for them in their time of need towards the end of the war. He aided in the creation of the atomic bomb, and his name would be forever remembered throughout American history as both a ruthless criminal and a passionate American patriot, despite his Italian descent.

After the war, America was a land riddled with troubles and conflicts between gangs and townspeople. They suffered a harsh debt after the war, and the economic recovery wasn’t looking well, so they turned, again, to the Starks for help. A pact was made. The now corrupt American government would disregard any actions committed on behalf of the Stark Family, and in turn, Howard Stark provide monetary support and would slowly work to eradicate the criminal organizations that had split away from them and those that had followed them to America to put order to society.

They thrived. Stark kept his word, and the government kept theirs. Society quickly learned to steer clear, and Stark, after accomplishing as much as he was capable of without risking his own neck, mellowed out, settled down and allowed things to move along however god intended.

Soon, towards his elder years, he met and married his caring wife. The marriage had been executed with the intent of a peace treaty rather than a marriage of love. The Starks were lacking a blood heir, and the Carbonell’s were standing on their last leg at the mercy of Howard Stark himself. So, Howard chose the daughter of Henry Carbonell as his bride and they married. The two Italian American organizations merged together, under the reign of Howard and Maria Stark. Their numbers doubled, and Howard moved half of his men, and his new wife with him across the states, leaving the other half in the hands of Jarvis to keep their authority strong within the cities.

Westward of New York a few years later, Howard Stark’s wife gave birth to the new heir, named after her grandfather, and his grandfather. The great-grandson of two of the most powerful men in European history: Anthony Carbonell and Edward Stark.

Anthony Edward Stark was his name. Neither mother, nor father could have possibly known it at the time as they stared down at the young child cradled in his mother’s loving arms, but he would grow into a man worthy of an honor exceeding any other man before him. He would achieve things that have been no more than a superfluous fantasy throughout all of mankind’s history. He would cross boundaries that had never been crossed before. He would surpass all expectation.

He would be the best of them.

He would go down a legend.

_“You, my son, will rule the world.”_

**He would rule the world.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm legit so excited about getting into this fic!

“Tony Stark!”

He could hear Rhodey's voice from all the way down the halls before the man even made it into the office. Tony noted that he sounded unnecessarily irritated. He barely had time to groan in frustration before Rhodes was throwing the doors of the room wide open for his dramatic entrance. He had always been one for dramatics… and hissy fits.

“What in the world were you thinking?” Rhodey seethed through his gritted teeth.

Tony scoffed, standing from the chair he had been mindlessly spinning in while his hands toyed around with his old smart pistol. He tossed the hunk of metal and wires onto his desk and raised a brow at the furious man that had burst into his private office with accusations dripping from his tongue.

“You’re going to have to be more specific Rhodes. I do many stupid things according to my wife.” He clapped his hands together to expel the blueprints displayed as a holograph above his desk before Rhodes could get a peek at them. The man was incredibly nosey, especially when it came to things Tony would rather him not be nosey about. He had an inborn knack for sniffing out his secrets.

Rhodey rolled his eyes in exasperation. “Why did I have to learn from that shrimp, Allen, that you decided to send out Romanoff to stakeout Oscorp without backup or supervision? That was supposed to be our big turnover to find a way to counteract their new bioweapons. It's possible for her to find classified information that sends her hightailing it back to Shield. I don’t know what went through your head to make you think this was by any means a good idea. This isn’t like you, Boss. Was Pepper not here this morning?”

“Stop calling me ‘Boss’ Sour Patch, you know it gives me chills.” The genius shuddered for the added dramatic effect.

“Just tell me _why_ , Tones. I don’t need this headache today. I’ve been too busy doing your job. And I can't do your job right if you don't tell me what's going on. You've been acting so weird lately.”

“Test of loyalty of sorts.” Tony shrugged in an offhanded manner, strutting over to the mini bar beside the assortment of couches across the room to fill a couple glasses with his expensive Scotch.

“That was a pretty big test to give her, Tony. This was supposed to be an important informant operation. You said so yourself,” Rhodey seethed quietly. “You know we shouldn’t be trusting her yet. She literally just cut ties with Shield. For all we know, she’s--”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, I get it Rhodey. I’ve heard it all a thousand times before. You've not liked her since she got here. I get it.” Tony forced the cool glass into his friend’s hand, but Rhodey didn’t drink it. “I still can’t believe you don’t trust me though. My right hand for 20 somethin’ years. You’d think by now you’d catch onto my excellent judge of character. Tell me… how many times have I been wrong?” He smiled with a familiar cheekiness that would have had Pepper scowling. He collapses into the fancy chair behind his long desk with a large stack of money displayed beside an old picture frame of Howard and Maria Stark and a box of special imported cigars from Mexico—a special gift from a couple drug-running pals he helped out a couple months back. He plucked one out of the box and spun it between two of his fingers as he looked around for a lighter while taking a long sip from his glass.

Rhodey just frowned at him. He apparently didn’t find the situation quite as amusing and trivial as Tony did. He never did.

_Such a mood killer._

Tony found his light. He placed the cigar between his lips and lit it. He puffed out a few quick smokes and pulled it away from his lips for another drink.

“Tony, Buddy. Listen,” Rhodey sighed, “-no thanks.” He shook his head when Tony offered him a cigar from his box and continued, “I get that you’re still going through… a tough time after the Ten Rings in Afghanistan, and I think you should take a little time off to cool down and regroup. They messed you up pretty bad over there.” Rhodey took note of the deep frown that settled across Tony’s face at the mention of Afghanistan. His gaze traveled to the long, gangly scar trailing down the side of the man's cheek made prominent by the lack by the smooth skin of his face uninterrupted by smile lines. “You’ve already killed our Consigliere, Stane, and half our men and associates alongside him, both here and in Europe. You’ve cut out our weapons agreement with the government, leaving us vulnerable to arrest and a lot more conflict with the other Families here in New York. We have no protection anymore besides Captain Rogers and I doubt even he is reliable enough to stick with us under pressure! And, by the way, ever since word’s spread about your little spat with Stane and the government… people are gettin’ cocky.” He looked at his friend with a placating raise of his brows. “They’re testing us, and things are getting out of hand. I don’t know how much longer we can go on like this, man.”

A couple more puffs and a mean glare; no answer.

“I think you just need some time away to relax. Let me take over things for a little while. Maybe you should take Pepper back to Italy, or France before the baby comes... Paris even. I trust you Tony, I really do, but it’s only been six months since it’s happened, and I think the… trauma is blinding your judgement just a tad-”

Tony’s neutral frown instantly bites into an angry scowl, teeth bared and cigar hanging loosely from his mouth. He sees red. His abduction wasn’t a light manner to discuss, and Rhodes knew better. Did the man think he didn’t know those Afghan terrorists didn’t screw him the hell up? He knows even the mention of his abduction brings on a panic and it digs up old thoughts he’d rather keep buried at the back of his mind and the gruesome images that’d been burned into his memory. It wasn’t how a man like him should react to trauma, he _knows_ … but that does _not_ mean his judgement is skewed. He’s as sharp as ever. No amount of trauma can change the fact that he’s a level-headed criminal mastermind… and he’s a Stark. He had developed a high tolerance for pain from a youthful age thanks to his drunken, cruel father. But then his chest tightened… remembering how _different_ it had been stuck in that cave. For a fleeting moment all he could feel was panic clawing at the inside of his chest as he waited for the dull knife to be slashed down his face and along his chest just for the heck of it. He could feel his throat filling with the blood spilling from his broken nose and jaw as his face was beaten in again and again, blocking out his choked screams as they sliced open the skin of his chest and back to let his sacred ‘Stark Blood’ pool along the dirty cave floor.

All because he was a man of strength and honor. Never to give in to the demands. Never to listen or obey because _he_ was the one that was supposed to be in control… Just as his father had taught him to be.

Then, he was back in his office and he could breathe again… The sting from the knife was still trailing along his skin but he could breathe now. But then Rhodey’s form morphed, and his father was left standing in the man’s place, glaring down at him with a with a belt in his hand, waiting to execute punishment for the fear and panic stuttering in his chest at the mere mention of a trying event.

He was a Stark.

 **_“_ ** _Stark men are not weak, Anthony! Stark men are made of Iron, and I will not put up with a feeble heir such as yourself_ **_.”_ ** The memorable words echo one last time in his head before he’s standing back in front of James Rhodes.

“Don’t you dare accuse me of such things Rhodes,” Tony growled with a hoarse voice. It trembled with tension, making it all the more threatening. He stood from his chair as he forced his glass of Liquor onto the wooden desk with a loud slam and he tore his cigar from his between his lips. “I am a Stark! We do not suffer trauma and we never will. I was there for a week! That's practically child's play. You act as if I’ve never been abducted and tortured before. I've seen more horrors than your mind can even begin to conjure my friend. The Ten Rings are just a sorry group of wannabes that had simply bit off more than they could chew when they came after me. I escaped, did I not? I left with more information than we could have ever gained otherwise. If I had so needed, I could have left at any time I wanted! But I _stayed_! I am not a weakling and I'd appreciate not being treated as such. My actions are sound, and my thoughts are clear just as they always are. Contrary to popular belief, I do know what I am doing.”

“Tony-”

“Don't!” He commanded loudly, shooting the man a scathing glare while he rounded the desk to jab an accusing finger in Rhodes’ chest. “I don’t want another _peep_ out of you. You hear me?! You do your job. You obey my orders. And you trust my judgement blindly. Do I make myself clear?”

They were face to face, noses nearly touching as they both heaved out angered breaths into the other's face. Rhodes had never done well with taking orders, but he was damn good at giving them.

Their eyes were locked together in a stubborn stand-off, waiting for the eventual submission from the other. This challenge of authority between the two men wasn’t unprecedented, but when Rhodey saw Stark’s gaze darken with a threatening undertone that had never been there before, fear pooled into his gut. It was rare to see the Boss’ anger flare so vehemently. His emotions were always kept in check-- no matter in what situation he was in. So, with a quick, submissive flicker of his eyelids, Rhodey turned away and bowed his head. He wasn’t stupid enough to challenge Anthony Stark while he was immersed in a rare fit of rage.

“I understand, Tony. I’m just concerned.” His head remained bowed submissively, and he took a single step away from the man as Stark raised his chin in a showy display of his dominance.

“I know you are Rhodes, and I appreciate it, but I need you to trust me on this. I have everything under control. Despite what you may think, I _do_ have a plan. I'm weeding out the bad eggs first,” he sighed, “and there seems to be many more than I had anticipated.”

“Of course-” Rhodes made move to leave the room. He rarely experienced Tony’s anger solely fixed on him, and it made his gut swirl uneasily. It was sometimes hard to remember the intensity and authority his friend possessed when he was privileged enough to see the man act as his usual fun-loving, carefree self when his men weren't around to question his right of authority. He spun on his heel stiffly, prepared to flee to his own office to let him cool down, but the office doors flew open again and a very angry, very pregnant Pepper Stark stalked into the room.

“Anthony Stark,” she mused dangerously. Rhodes watched in modest amusement as the man’s face paled, ridding itself of any confidence and authority he had pressed upon Rhodes earlier as his wife strode into the room with the anger radiating off her reddened cheeks. Rhodey swore he saw her hair glint a fiery red around her, acting as a beaming halo. “What is this I hear about you sending Romanoff out by herself? To Oscorp nonetheless?”

It was clear who was really had the authority out of the three in the room.

“Hon,” Tony began, an apologetic smile gracing his lips as he carefully reached out to her as if he were afraid she might lash out, “now’s really not a good time. I just-”

“Tony,” Pepper barked, silencing him, “I’ve been gone for a day. _One Day_.” Then she turned her glare onto Rhodey when she noticed him in the room as well. “Did you encourage this?” She stared him down with a harsh glare for a moment before waving it off. “Of course you didn’t; you have some goddamn sense. Tony, what in the world were you thinking? Honey, you're usually so good about these things.”

“Sweetheart, it’s okay. I sent Hogan to chaperone at a distance. I’m not completely brainless, I promise.”

“Happy?!” She shrieked, “you sent _Happy_ to follow that woman by himself? That poor man will be torn to shreds if Romanoff finds him trailing her.”

Tony’s gaze hardened again out of annoyance. It was frustrating when the people closest to him were incapable of trusting his decision making. Although, he supposed he deserved it considering the major pieces of the puzzle he was keeping from them. In their eyes, it wasn’t outlandish to assume he had officially gone insane.

“Romanoff knows the rules, Dear. She won’t lay a finger on Hogan. Now, I believe Bruce ordered you to take it easy. Or had I misheard? That means no more work. No more stressing over work. No more _thinking_ about work… You let me handle this, alright? I can get along without your amazing help for a little while. I promise not to destroy our reputation during your absence.”

“I can’t believe I've been put on bed rest and I'm not even six months pregnant, yet,” she muttered under her breath. “This is all your fault.”

“It’s your own fault for worrying about me so much, Hon,” Tony smiled teasingly.

Pepper challenged him defiantly, placing her hands on her hips and ignoring his jab to get her riled up. “Sometimes I wish I could understand that brain of yours. You better not drive us into the ground. I know I wouldn’t do very well in prison.”

“Nobody will be going to prison,” Tony mused with an amused chuckle, gesturing for his wife to approach the desk he was leaning up against. “Captain Rogers and Lieutenant Barnes still have us covered on that front, thankfully, and you, my dear, are off limits. Everyone knows better than to so much as look at you twisted, so there is no need for you to worry. I won't let anything happen.” He placed a calloused hand over her protruding belly and smiled warmly as he gently stroked the soft layer of fabric covering the her swelled stomach.

“Hmm. I would appreciate if you’d stop sending death threats to every man that looked at me sideways.” She snarked with a tiny smile. “Sometimes it can be rather flattering, y’know.”

“I won't _actually_ kill them unless they deserve it. You know that.” He grinned, and she rolled her eyes fondly.

“Yes, but _they_ don’t.”

“Yes, that’s the point.”

Rhodes turned his back to the pair to give them privacy. He always hated intruding on the intimate moments between Stark and his wife.

Tony hummed and smiled in amusement when he saw the man’s positioning towards them, and he tipped his head down to peck his wife quickly on the lips. “I won't stand for any man looking at you sideways. They know better. Now get back to bed. I need you to stay healthy my dear. You are carrying some very precious cargo in here.” He glanced down at his hand where it rested atop her baby bump.

“Let’s just hope she turns out nothing like you, hmm?” She smiled lovingly as she gave him one last meaningful kiss before pulling away from him. “I’m still angry about Romanoff, by the way. You should have at least run it by me.”

“I know sweetheart, but there’s no need for you to stress about it. Just focus on yourself and our baby girl… I don't need a troublesome birth giving us a scare bad enough to prevent another. I’ll still need an heir after her, y’know.”

“Hmm, I don’t know,” she mused with a contemplative raise of her brow as she glanced around the messy office. He had always been terrible at picking up after himself. “This place may do good under a strong woman’s iron fist, don’t you think Rhodey?” She glanced at the abnormally quiet man standing near the door, “Change things up a bit?”

Tony balked at her. “You mean break tradition? You mean risk my great-grandfather’s ghost coming back to castrate me during the night and haunt us for the rest of our lives? Those old Italian men are intense Pep. And I don’t think I want my little Princess getting caught in this bloody mess anyway… too dirty for her pretty little hands.”

“Fair enough,” Pepper smiled. She turned to Rhodes. “Keep him in line Rhodey. Goodness knows I can’t keep an eye on him all the way from the penthouse.”

Rhodey bowed his head to her respectfully, gracing her with a smirk of his own as she exited the room with the unflappable grace that only Pepper Stark could muster. Then, he turned to look back at his Boss with a wicked grin.

“You’re totally whipped.”

“Shut up.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, how's my evil Tony??? XD
> 
> I'm probably gonna keep these chapters somewhat short to pump them out quicker. But I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'm hoping to update fairly soon. 
> 
> If you have any questions or suggestions let me know.


	3. Chapter 3

The week he had spent in Afghanistan had been an eye-opening experience. It wasn’t exactly what he had expected it to be when he had decided to investigate the local terrorist organization, but it had been a necessary evil. Of course, he’d been tortured before; stabbed, shot, strangled, suffocated, really anything that they could think up. Yet, being there… in that cave for a week… it was different.

He couldn’t remember his blood always being quite that red. Or the pain always being quite that fierce. His screams had never run his throat that raw before, either.

Maybe it was because he had something to lose then; unlike previous times. Pepper had just found out she was pregnant, and they were both beyond ecstatic to bring their very own baby into the world. Maybe it was because it was the first time he’d been tortured without having to worry about his father being around when he got back to scowl at him and scold him for being weak enough to scream, or break, or cry… He didn’t know what it was, but that time was definitely different.

It could have been the fresh betrayal he felt in his heart. Months before his kidnapping he had had an odd feeling about his Consigliere, Stane, and Oscorp. He had eventually connected the dots between the two, along with another couple surprising additions. The man had been more of a father to him than Howard had ever been and finding out the man’s true intentions were nearly as devastating as Jarvis’ death, the man that had practically raised him.

All it took were a few phone wires, and hacked account statements before he found out about Stane's dealings under the table. He was in cahoots with Oscorp, the government, and the Ten Rings, planning his assassination. The man had wanted him dead, for good, but for the life of him, Tony couldn’t figure out why. Stane wouldn't have received any benefits from his death, because the organization would go straight to Pepper and Rhodey, and nothing would really change. The mystery of 'why' is what had drawn him to Afghanistan; to the Ten Rings. To leave himself vulnerable to the terrorist organization, hoping to uncover whatever information and weapons that the Ten Rings had acquired.

He had come across something much more valuable during his time, though. Through the beatings and the torture, the Afghan terrorists had unknowingly given several secrets away, because they hadn’t planned on him escaping with the information. But he did… and he’d been working ever since to right the wrongs that had become because of his carelessness.

There was a machine… a machine they had needed his help building and that was the only reason they had kept him alive for as long as they did. What that machine is and what it was for? He didn’t know. All he knew was that both the government and Oscorp still had something to do with it. The language barrier proved to be a problem, but with the help of Yinsen, in the cave, he had learned much more than he had hoped for.

Unfortunately, Stane died before Tony was able to squeeze any information from him; murdered by Natasha Romanoff. It was a traumatic time for the organization, especially considering that a fair number of his men had been loyal followers to the deceitful man. So, over the next six months, he slowly weeded out the remaining traitors and worked tirelessly to find what secret the man had died hiding. He still wasn’t quite sure of who he should trust. He cut ties with the government after JARVIS uncovered and decrypted an old message between Stane and President Ross.

He’d been tailing Oscorp, listening in on Ross, and recruiting young men with no other place to go. He gave them food to eat, a place to stay, and a family to fight for. They had reason to fight, and reasonable rules to follow. Both men and women that had been a part of the business were drawn to that. Evil with morals is what the locals loved to call him, and it always made him happy to hear.

That’s why he was picky now… he needed his men uncorrupted and trainable, room for trust to grow and flourish. He no longer needed fear, evil, and menacing; he needed undying loyalty, trust, and strength. He needed people with good intentions, willing to do what society felt was wrong to accomplish something that was right. Some things just couldn’t be fixed without it. So, where the government fell short, Tony took into his own hands, because the world was falling apart, and somebody needed to put it back together. 

Outsiders may think it stupid, but he’d never really cared what outsiders thought

He was almost done too… his numbers have practically doubled since the numbers he had lost. The original men that had stayed loyal during his spat with Stane were working tirelessly to train the new recruits whilst also working through their tasks to weed out any weak Oscorp links to bring back for interrogation. It was a long, grueling process, but they were so close.

Tony could feel it… It’d been a week since he had sent Romanoff out, and there was no word from her yet. There was no way of telling how well his judgment had been when it screamed for him to trust her just this once. She only saved his ass once… which wasn't exactly much to base her entire character off of.

But, really, she was his only hope at this point. She was quick, precise, and she knew what she was doing. They needed answers; and they needed them soon, because who knew how long he had before the world fell to pieces at the hands of a democracy unfit for the power it sought.

Thank goodness he had sent a couple of new rookies on that busy trip to get him out of his and Rhodey's hair. Happy, their buffer, was gone tailing Romanoff, and the new recruits just hadn’t seemed to know how to handle the man’s absence. He _knew_ he'd been right about them, though, because here he was… with a new source of information. A link to Oscorp's deepest secrets waiting to be uncovered. An easily breakable link with just a little prodding done right, or so he’s been told, or so he's been told. If this young man knew what he thought he did… it'd be more than he could have ever hoped for. He was a messenger boy, and typically messenger boys knew much more than people usually gave them credit for. 

He hated these things, though. Hated it; hated it. They were ridiculously boring, time-consuming, and quite messy depending on his level of patience that day. There were the criers… they cried a lot, and it wasn't uncommon for a rare brave soul to spit in his face. It really was one of the worst parts of his job.

So yeah, he wasn't exactly a fan of these little 'discussions'.

He ran a hand down his face before reaching up to mousse back his dark hair. Then, with one last tug of his collar, he threw open the door of the old conference-like room with his chin held in the air as he looked down at the older boy tied to the chair at the center of the room.

“Alright, let’s cut to the chase,” Tony sighed boredly, lifting his hand to examine his father’s old gun, nonchalantly, flicking at imaginary dust lingering on the metal frame.

“I’d like you to tell me what you know about the Oscorp and Ten Rings merge. Anything you know about their little ‘machine’.”

The kid didn’t say anything. His eyes were wide and red-rimmed with tears and his face screwed into a firm, angered scowl.

He was a crier, and Tony couldn’t really blame the ones that did cry. Heck, if his father hadn’t been the way he was, Tony would have probably turned out to be a sensitive little crier too. Some people just weren’t built to be in their line of work, and this young man most definitely wasn’t. At least, not at his age.

“Hey,” Tony growled threateningly, taking one large step forward and grasping the young man's jaw in his hand tightly, twisting it to the side uncomfortably so his head was forcefully bent into a submissive position. He didn't have the patience for this today… he needed answers _now_. “Answer me when I speak to you.”

He didn't raise his voice. He rarely ever raised his voice. That was an old-fashioned tactic his father had been rather fond of, and even as a young child Tony had taken note of the lack of respect that strategy bought. It only bred fear that was for sure.

He’d never enjoyed being on the receiving end of his father’s harsh words and he had never felt a lick of respect for the man. Only fear… and as he grew older, and as he was forced to take over his father’s position, he found that a quiet, threatening calm was far more terrifying than the usual shouts. The firm, unwavering tone demanded respect, and that respect brought Tony places his father had never been able to touch with his blood-coated hands.

So, he hardened his glare and squeezed the young man's jaw harder between his strong fingers without uttering another word. The only noise that escaped the kid was a pitiful whimper. Tony subtly loosened his grip, but he kicked his foot against the chair to rock it backward to compensate, leaving his intimidating form towering over the boy. “You better start talking kid. I’m not known for my unwavering patience.” He cocked back the hammer of his revolver as a warning, and the older boy visibly gulped.

“I’m sorry,” he finally broke under the man’s harsh gaze; voice wavering and body shaking. “I-I-I-I don’t know anything.”

“Yes, you do,” Tony droned boredly as if it were the most obvious thing in the world, “you really think I’d be wasting my time here with you if you didn’t? I’m a busy man Kid. I've got things to do, places to be.”

“I-I don’t-I don’t know. I-I’m just the messenger kid.”

Tony groaned and rolled his eyes, releasing him from his hold and letting the chair drop back to its original position so he could scrub his face with his hand. He stepped away from the cowering kid casually, the hand holding his gun falling limp at his side as he repressed the urge to scream out in frustration. _Too much stress_ . “Yes, I _know_ you’re the messenger, Keener. But what I need to know is _what_ message you were delivering?”

“I-I-I don’t think I’m allowed to tell you-”

“Oh, for Pete's sake,” Tony sighed dramatically, throwing his hands in the air. He flicked the safety back in place and tossed his gun haphazardly on the table beside him. He didn't miss the way the kid's eyes followed the weapon fervently. “I hate these things. Why do you make me do this Rhodes? They’re so annoying. I can’t stand it.”

“It’s funny to watch you squirm.” Rhodey grinned in amusement, leaning up against the door with his arms crossed over his chest as he watched his Boss make a spectacle of himself in front of the young man.

“Yeah, of course, you'd think so,” Tony drawled snarkily, making a face at his friend to show his annoyance.

He turned his attention back on the kid tied to the chair.

“Alright, listen up, Kid. Harley? That’s your name, right?”

“Yes, Sir.”

“Aww, look at that. He’s polite _and_ respects my authority.” He shoots a pointed look at the man leaning against the door before grabbing a chair and dragging it over to take a seat right in front of the kid. He supposed it was an appropriate time to change tactics.

He could use a few more recruits anyways…

“Anyways,” he clasped his hands together and leaned forward in his seat to stare at him intently. “I’m gonna make a deal with ya.”

“Tony, please,” Rhodey groaned, “we can’t recruit any more useless hands. Stop adopting all these strays. Happy's already got his hands full as it is.”

“C’mon Rhodes, look at him,” Tony gestured to the older boy. His skinny framed body with moussed up hair and bruised cheeks shining with tears made him look so much younger. “He’s what, Eighteen? Seventeen?”

“Fourteen.” Harley corrected lamely, chin falling to his chest to stare at his lap.

_Maybe not so much younger…_

“By Golly! You’re still a baby!” Tony shouted, horrified with himself for causing a little kid to cry the way he did. “What in the world are you doing in this business kid? Don’t you got an Xbox? PS4? Literally, anything that wouldn’t end in you getting killed? Gosh.” He threw his hands up in frustration, collapsing into the back of his chair exasperatedly and turning to shoot Rhodey a look.

The kid didn’t say a word. He kept his gaze fixed on his lap.

“Gosh,” Tony muttered again as he turned to look pityingly at the kid. He wouldn’t wish this kind of childhood on anybody, but it was too late for the kid. He’d gotten involved with things he would never be able to walk away from.

“Fourteen…” Tony sighed, furrowing his brows. “Where are your parents?”

The boy's face screwed into another angry scowl.

“Dad left years ago, and I got involved with Oscorp... They killed my mom and sister when I did something kinda stupid,” the kid muttered tightly. “They promise not to kill me too as long as I don't mess up again. And they give me a place to stay.”

Tony’s chest tightened and he sees red. He glanced at the dark bruise on the kid’s right cheek and growled under his breath. Oscorp had never been good at following his rules, and this quivering kid in front of him was proof of that. Kids were strictly off-limits. They knew that and that just made Tony Stark all that more peeved.

"It's my fault…" the kid whispered through a choked breath. Tony's face melted sadly as he looked down at him. He saw a lone teardrop from his cheek and land on his lap when the kid hurriedly brushed away the others before they could fall.

"No, it’s not," Tony responded firmly. The kid flinched back at his tone and for some reason, anger flickered again in Tony's chest. No kid should blame themselves for a thing like that. He wouldn't stand for it. The kid was too young to carry that kind of guilt.

Thankfully, Harley didn't say anything to argue.

“Y’know,” Tony started again after a lengthy silence, releasing a breath to control his anger, “I think with a little work and a little mentoring, you’d make a fine con-man. You can see it in your eyes, Kid.” He made sure to line his tone as much sincerity and kindness as he could for the kid’s sake, but Harley’s wide-eyed gaze snapped up to stare at him in bewilderment. Tony found the fear and innocence endearing; a change of pace from the usual tough exterior he was used to.

“Con-man? Like-like a con-man con-man?” Harley questioned nervously; chin tucked close to his chest as he averted his eyes upwards to stare hopefully at the man.

“Well, what other kinds of con-man is there?” Tony chuckled, looking at the kid with an amused twinkle in his eyes. Harley didn’t say anything after that and he returned his gaze back to his lap, stubbornly.

Tony sighed. “Look, Keener. I’ve never been big on the hurting kids thing. I won’t do it, and I don’t like when other people do it, but… I really need this kiddo. I know what Oscorp does to kids like you and I'm willing to give you a good starting position here, under strict supervision, of course. You'll be safe here, but you have to give me what I need to know first. I can't trust you otherwise.”

“How-how do I know that you’re not just lying to me to get what you want? I'm not a complete idiot, y’know. I-I-I mean… you're _Tony Stark_.”

“Well, I’m not lying,” Tony answered blandly, trying to repress the smirk at the kid's snarkiness. “But if you’d prefer not to tell me... we can just wait for my good man Hogan to get back and he can make sure you’re escorted straight back to Oscorp. They can take care of you over there however they handle business. It’s really no big deal to me. I’ll get what I need either way eventually.”

That was a bald-faced lie. He’d never do anything of the like… but the kid didn’t need to know that.

“You-you can't just let me go? I-I can't go back to Oscorp after this! They’ll kill me for getting caught so easy! They’ll kill me just ‘cause they can! You just said you didn't like it when people hurt kids, and they'll hurt me!”

“I know kid,” Tony smiled sympathetically, “that’s why I’m giving you this once in a lifetime opportunity. Either you tell me what I want to know now, get in good with the most powerful man from Europe to America, and be protected by the wrath of Osborn and his men, or… get kicked to the street with the risk of the Oscorp vultures hunting you down after finding out you were their weak link, then finding yourself dead in a gutter five miles east of Nevada. Take it or lose it, kid. I’ll give you ten minutes to think about it.”

Then, with that Tony stood gracefully from the chair, clapped the boy once on the shoulder, grabbed the gun he’d discarded on the table earlier, and moved out of the room with Rhodey following close behind him. His temper had flared, and his determination to drive Oscorp into the ground was stronger than he’d ever felt it. He hated anyone who had the audacity to lay a finger on an innocent kid and his family. He’d never let it pass before, and he wasn’t about to start now.

They knew the rules.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what you guys thought!! I really wanna continue and I love hearing from you guys!
> 
> I cant tell if my bad!Tony is confusing or not. Like... do his morals and beliefs make sense. I'm not sure if I'm making it clear enough. If you do need me to explain further I'll be sure to answer you or address it in later chapters if its major or spoiler related 
> 
> Thanks for reading tho guys!! I love you so much! <33


	4. Chapter 4

Tony snuck up to his bedroom door to catch a glimpse of his wife relaxing in their bed and he grinned at the sight of her. Her back was pressed up against the headboard with a book propped up on her protruding belly. His day was over, and he could finally spend some quality time with his family. He didn’t know what it was, or why… but he was genuinely ecstatic to be a father. The idea of a small, innocent being loving him so abundantly… it made him want to have a million of them.

It was his chance to have the one thing he had wished for as a child: a family, and it was going to be absolutely amazing. This tiny thing growing inside the stomach of the love of his life; it was nothing short of a miracle, and he was determined to break tradition and be the best father ever to his baby girl.

Pepper looked up from her book when she heard him come in and she greeted him with a warm smile, closing her book with her finger wedged between the pages to keep her place and voicing her inquiries about his day and how work was going.

Tony answered her questions as he hurriedly shed off his jacket, draping it over a chair. He toed off his shoes, last, as he approached the bed. Pepper laughed out loud as he collapsed on his side of the bed with a breathy ‘oof’ and she leaned over to press a warm kiss to his lips. He grinned against her mouth and ran his calloused hand along her baby bump as he leaned up to pepper her lips with sweet, sweet kisses.

“I missed you,” he whispered against her mouth.

“You always miss me,” Pepper answered with a smug smile. Tony growled playfully at her and gave her one more quick peck before falling against the mattress with a contented sigh. He kept his hand on her stomach, and caressed the soft skin peeking out of the loose tank top she was wearing.

“How’s my little Princess doing today?” He smiled, wiggling his body so he was comfortably sprawled out on his side with his face pressed close to the side of her belly. He lifted her shirt, sensually, to reveal the soft skin beneath and pressed a long, lingering kiss to the side.

Pepper smiled and used one hand to open her book, and the other to thread through her husband’s soft hair.

“Maguna,” Tony cooed in a babyish voice. “How was your day today? Did Mommy read you lots of boring stories? Did she complain about Daddy a lot? Did she say mean things about me?” He whispered against her skin softly, shooting his wife a playful glare. “Don’t listen to her. They’re all lies.” He pressed another sweet kiss to her bare belly and ran his beard along the sensitive skin just because he knew it drove Pepper crazy. 

Pepper smirked at him, looking down from her book. “Don’t listen to Daddy sweetheart,” Pepper droned, rubbing her hand down her stomach, pausing over Tony’s hand to intertwine their fingers briefly, “Mommy’s always right.”

Tony scoffed at her, but then he felt a small kick against the palm of his hand and he grinned excitedly. “I love you too baby.” He answered, pressing several more kisses to her belly. Another kick. “What’s that?” He feigned surprise. “You want to hear a story? Okay, I’ll tell you a nice story. Lemme think…” He tapped his chin thoughtfully as he absentmindedly ran his fingers along the spot he had felt the two kicks.

He was just about to begin when JARVIS spoke up.

“Boss, Romanoff has returned… I feel this matter is urgent. Rhodes is acting rather huffy about who she’s returned with. He’s requesting you come down and take care of things.”

Tony scoffed, dropping his forehead against his wife’s swollen belly. Pepper’s fingers threaded through his hair once more before she pulled away, focusing intently on her book.

“Rhodes,” he muttered under his breath. “He gets so pissy sometimes.”

“Be careful,” Pepper murmured looking up to settle him with a subtle ‘I told you so’ look in her eyes before returning to her book as her husband climbed off the bed. 

“Always.” He ignored the look just to annoy her and leaned over to press a quick kiss to her lips.

“And don’t you dare come back in this room with blood on your clothes. I hate the smell.”

“Of course, Hon. I'll be sure to wash up before I come back in. I’ll be back soon.” He pauses, and falls against the bed last minute and places a hand on her belly again, pressing a kiss right above her belly button. “Daddy’s gotta go back to work Princess. I’ll be back soon and I’ll tell you the best story ever.” Then he stood up once more and grabbed his black jacket and his father’s old revolver on his way out the room. He shrugged the jacket on and tucked the revolver into the waistband of his pants as he made his way through their penthouse, towards the elevator.

“What’s got dear Rhodey’s panties in a twist this time ‘round, JARVIS?” He asked, reaching up to slick his hair back then reaching down to right the collar on his shirt once the elevator doors shut behind him.

“Ms. Romanoff brought a guest back with her, sir.” The elevator began its descent and Tony narrowed his eyes at the shiny, reflective door to find the right facial expression for the occasion. He reached behind him to pull out his gun. He admired the barrel, stroking the muzzle lovingly. Then he snapped the cylinder out to count his shots before snapping it back in place and spinning it playfully. He had always been fascinated by his father’s revolver ever since he was a small child. He’d witnessed his first murder at the hands of that gun, and he’d committed his first with the very same weapon.

Ever since his parents’ prompt death several years ago, he’d claimed the weapon as his own, and he had no plan to be ridding himself of the beautiful piece of machinery anytime soon, despite the numerous advanced weaponry he’d created himself. The revolver had been a creation of Howard Stark himself; one of his first. Tony wasn’t nostalgic by any means, and he hated his father for the things he did, but in an odd way, he still had a twinge of respect for the man… for all the things he was able to accomplish during his lifetime.

The elevator doors slid open and Tony caressed the weapon one last time before allowing his arm to fall limp at his side as he moved forward with his usual unperturbed grace and his chin held high. It was an open floor where many of his men would often loiter around during the night, and tonight didn’t seem to be an exception. There were several younger men hooting and shouting in celebration as they watched a soccer game on the large TV in the lounge, and then there were just a few joining the older men around a poker table, smoking cigars, and drinking beer. There was no doubt in his mind that those young recruits would definitely be losing money to the old coots.

It was nice to see things back to normal. The new recruits were beginning to fit in with the old, and the trust was building again.

“Boss!” Hogan called out from across the room to grab his attention. Tony snapped his head towards him and immediately noticed his jitteriness - nothing too out of the ordinary. Happy was always paranoid by something or another. Much like Rhodey. 

Tony smiled and worked his way over to him, greeting the men brave enough to pass by him with a clap on the shoulder and authoritative nod of his head. By the time he actually reached Happy, the man was practically dancing.

“Romanoff brought someone back with her, Boss.”

“Just like I asked her Hogan, thank you.” He cocked back the hammer of his revolver, the small click that followed echoed through the room and a soft hush befell upon the room. Heads turned to follow him as Happy fell in line with his brisk pace. 

“Boss, I don’t think this is what you meant when you told her-”

“I’m sure,” he mused offhandedly, dismissing the guard’s thought with a wave of his hand as he glanced around the large room. He needed to talk to the kid about something important before he went into ‘talk’ with Romanoff’s guest. He spotted him at a small lounge in the corner of the room, standing with wide eyes and a straight spine. Tony couldn’t help but be mildly impressed with the kid’s ability to obey his orders because he swears that’s almost the exact spot he instructed the kid to hang around days ago when there was no one of authority to chaperone him. Thankfully, Happy was back, and the kid could follow him around for a while. “Keener! Get over here.”

The boy bounded over quickly, falling in line with the two men's’ larger strides. He didn’t open his mouth to question him and he hung his head to stare at his feet nervously. Tony rolled his eyes and reached out to clap a hand on his shoulder. He didn’t miss the way the boy flinched away when he did.

“Who’s this?” Happy questioned incredulously, giving the scrawny boy a once over as they walked. 

“New recruit,” Tony answered bluntly, ignoring Happy’s huff of annoyance. He slung his arm around the teen’s shoulders and reached over and tapped his shoulder with the muzzle of his gun. The kid’s eyes fixated worriedly on the weapon and cocked back the hammer. Tony could feel him shudder beneath his hand and he bit down a chuckle. “Don’t worry kid, I won’t shoot ya. Promise.”

Tony paused midstep, gripping his opposite shoulder with his free hand to stop him as well. Happy paused to glance back at them when he noticed their abrupt halt, narrowing his eyes at Tony dangerously as he caught sight of the kid’s pale, fear-stricken face as his boss tapped the underside of the kid’s chin with the barrel of his gun so he’d look up at him.

“Look at me, kid.” He commanded sternly, narrowing his eyes as he looked down at the teenager. Harley did as he was commanded and didn’t break his gaze away from the older man’s. 

Tony had to be serious about this because this was a serious matter, and the kid had to understand just how serious it was. This wasn’t a soft conversation, and just because he won’t hurt kids didn’t mean he won’t take the necessary actions so they would understand just who was in charge; especially if the kid was planning to join his side of the fight when he was older. He wouldn’t risk being stabbed in the back by anyone anymore.

“Alright… you gave me some really helpful information about Oscorp and The Ten Rings merge, correct?” The boy nodded quickly. Tony hummed in acknowledgment, never lowering the gun. “You claimed they were planning to team against me, yeah? They’re collaborating with President Ross? About a weapon?”

“Yessir.” Harley squeaked, shuddering under the narrowed eyes of Anthony Stark. 

_He really was as terrifying as they claimed._

“I can’t risk recruiting someone untrustworthy, Kid. You have one last chance to come clean and tell the truth if you had decided to make up a little fib to get out of trouble. If I find out you were lying… I won’t hesitate-”

“I wasn’t-I wasn’t. I promise,” Harley insisted vehemently.

“Don’t interrupt me,” Tony snapped at him without expression, angling the tip of his gun higher to raise the teen’s head so he had no choice but to look him in the eyes.

“Yessir.”

Tony gave him one last once over before lowering the gun back to his side and tipping his head to the side as if studying him one last time.

“C’mon. Romanoff came back with a little something to back up your story.” Tony started walking again, tightening his hold around the boy’s shoulders, as if he were about to run away, and dragged him along beside him.

“W-what?” Harley’s eyes widened, stumbling over his own feet to match the man’s large strides.

“Yeah, kid,” he grinned down at the boy condescendingly, “nervous?”

The boy’s head snapped side to side with fervor and Tony chuckled. 

“Don’t worry kid. I won’t let ‘em lay a hand on you if that’s what you're worried about.” Tony clapped him on the shoulder once more as he released him from his hold and followed Happy’s lead across the room, right towards Rhodey’s personal office.

“Boss, I don’t think this is quite who you were expecting it to be-” Happy began, stopping hesitantly at the large wooden door to glance back at his Boss and new follower.

“Hush Hogan. Door.”

The man did as he was told and opened the door for them. Tony nudged Harley into the room first. He really couldn’t risk the kid running. He’d been around the base for days, and if he decided to hightail it back to Oscorp with any bits of information he’s learned, well… sucks to suck. And, he kinda sorta liked the kid and the snarky personality hiding beneath a blanket of nerves and fear. Tony was confident he’d be able to worm it out of him eventually.

“Rhodes. Romanoff!” He called out cheerfully as he entered the room. Knowing Romanoff was successful and came back with a potential source of information. Whew boy. That right there peeled off a thick layer of stress. “Where’s my present? I’ve been waiting for days. Give me some good news.” 

“Tony,” Rhodey replied tersely, shooting a menacing glare at Romanoff.

“Well, where is he? Where’s my leverage, Romanoff? You got someone good, I hope. High up on the Oscorp food chain?” His wicked grin bloomed across his face again as he focused his attention on the redhead standing stiffly beside Rhodes’ desk.

“Boss, I don’t think-” Happy starts up again, but Tony held up a hand to silence him and watched as Natasha lifted her hand to point towards the back corner of the room.

“Rhodes let you bring him in  _here_ _?_ I thought you didn’t like messes Rhodey,” Tony smirked at the man before spinning around to confront whomever Romanoff had brought back with her, spinning the cylinder of his revolver once more.

He paused as he absorbed the sight of a small form cowering as it tucked himself into the corner of the two walls, and it took him a moment to process. Tony blinked a couple of times just to make sure he wasn’t seeing things and his mouth fell into an angry scowl. He spun on his heel to fix the woman beside Rhodey’s desk with a glare, releasing a menacing growl. He wiggled his gun at her threateningly. “What the hell made you think bringing a kid here was okay, Romanoff? A KID!!”

He threw his hand in the direction of the cowering boy in the corner for emphasis. “Look at him! He’s a baby! Give me one good reason not to send you crawling back to SHIELD so they’ll do my job and shoot you in the skull  _right now_ .”

The woman remained as stoic as ever. Never so much as blinking as she angled her head to stare pointedly at the teen boy standing behind Happy.

“That’s different,” Tony growled out.

“So is this. It’s Richard Parker’s son.” She answered bluntly.

Tony cocked his brow at her, and the anger seeped from his features as he processed the information. “Hmm,” he hummed thoughtfully, “THE Richard Parker? Osborn’s right-hand? The mad scientist behind this whole mess?”

Natasha nodded, and a small smile broke across Tony’s face as he turned back to look at the tiny kid reduced to terrified sobs in the corner of Rhodey’s office.

“Hmm, I guess that is a good reason. What’s his name? I forget.”

“I-I-It’s Peter, sir,” Harley answered quickly without breaking his gaze settled intently on the child. If Tony didn’t know any better… he’d say there was a spark of familiarity in that look.

“Peter? Peter Parker. That’s a nice name.” Tony mused under his breath, offering the teen a playful nudge as thanks. He uncocked his gun and tucked it back behind waistband.

“You couldn’t have got that bratty one of Osborn’s?” He joked to Natasha lightheartedly as he approached the tiny child.

“Tony,” Rhodes reprimanded him tightly.

Tony ignored him and continued his advance on Peter Parker. The kid had backed himself further into the corner, curling in on himself, with his arms hugging his bony knees to his chest. He followed Tony’s form with wide, terrified eyes, without a single blink. Tony studied him for a short moment before crouching down to his level. Peter cried out in surprise at the quick movement and attempted to scramble away from him, but he was too far back into the corner to get any farther. So, he tucked his head close to his knees and turned his cheek to Tony, looking away to squeeze his eyes shut tightly as his whole body shook with violent, terrified sobs.

Tony felt his heart go out to the kid. He knew what he was going through, because, heck, Tony went through it so much as a child too.

“Hey, look at me,” he instructed, reaching out to grasp the kid’s tiny chin between his thumb and curled forefinger. He tugged at it until the kid was looking at him again, and he smiled. “You don’t have to be scared, alright? I’m not gonna let anything happen to you. You just have to stay here for a little while, alright?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, like... I'm totally struggling. This is so much harder than I thought it would be. I'm so used to writing soft and caring Tony that is makes it seem so unnatural to write him bad. So I kinda write him as both if that makes any sense. Idek. Oh well. I'm gonna keep going though, cuz I like the challenge. I just hope it's not to OOC or inconsistent with his character. Let me know if it is guys, cuz this is so different and I wanna try and fix it if it is. So, yeah. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope you enjoyed it. :)


	5. Chapter 5

“Hey, it’s alright,” Tony coaxed gently, softening his grip on the quivering child’s chin when he realized how threatening the hold must have felt to him when it was coming from a large man looming over him. “I’m not going to hurt you, Peter.”

The boy still didn’t say a word and he clamped his eyes shut tightly. His eyes watered, and tears fell from the corners of his eyes then trailed around his reddened cheeks and trembling lips. He shivered violently, hunched in on himself, emitting a sorrowful whine as his body broke out into harsh sobs. Tony’s brows furrowed and he had no idea what in the world he was supposed to do. He continued trying to coax the boy into calming down, but the effort was futile. The kid was downright terrified.

Then Tony’s expression fell into a hard frown and his eyebrows furrowed together angrily when he caught a glimpse of a purplish bruise peeking out from behind the kid’s collar. He dropped his hand from the kid’s chin and tugged at the piece of clothing roughly, causing the child to yip fearfully at the sudden movements thanks to his momentary neglect of being gentle…  _ force of habit _ .

He nearly tore the fabric in his impatient effort to pull it out of the way and a growl stemmed from deep within his throat, vibrating across his chest as he ran his calloused fingers along the dark bruises trailing across the kid’s neck and collarbone. The child flinched further away from the threatening touch, trying fruitlessly to tug away from his strong hold. When it didn’t work, he released a bout of pitiful wails and bowed his head to hide in his knees. His body wracked with sobs and Tony tore his hands away from the child as he curled into himself in some half-assed attempt to self soothe.

He stood abruptly, spinning on his heel to approach the woman across the room with fire behind his eyes. “What is that on his neck?” He seethed, nostrils flaring dramatically as he came toe to toe with her to loom over her smaller form, he settled his piercing glare on her and didn’t bother to refrain from spitting in her face as he forced the words from his mouth.

She wordlessly held a hand out and pressed the palm of it against his chest to push him away from her.

“Don’t you dare touch me,” he snarled threateningly, grabbing onto her wrist tightly and twisted it roughly before he tossed it violently to the side with enough force to dislocate a weak shoulder. “What did you do to him?”

She didn’t even flinch, and she glared right back at him. “I did  _ nothing _ . I know your rules Stark, and how hissy you get when they aren’t followed properly. I didn’t lay a finger on that child.”

“Then why’s the skin on his neck and chest swelled and purple? Why else would he have a bruise in the shape of a hand rimming all the way around his neck? Could you have acted roughly or carelessly harmed him to make a quick grab? Who else would have the need to hurt him? Don’t insinuate me an idiot for assuming you to be responsible for something like this. I wouldn’t put it past ya.” His voice mellowed into his usual deceptive calm and his eyes darkened threateningly.

Natasha said nothing as she locked eyes with the man, standing her ground and challenging him to accuse her further.

“You answer me when I speak to you!” He roared, his frustration getting the better of him and his patience thinning. The deafening silence coming from the other occupants of the room that followed his outburst only defined the distinct sounds of a distraught toddler huddling in the corner of the room.

“Tony, I told you we couldn’t trust her,” Rhodey stepped in, his large arms crossed over his own chest as he stared the woman down alongside him.

“I wasn’t the one to hurt the child,” Romanoff forced out bitterly.

“Then who the hell hurt him?”

There was no immediate answer to his question and that didn’t fail to piss him off. He spun on his heel again and glared in the direction of the cowering boy curled up in the corner of Rhodes’ office. He  _ hated _ it when he was reminded of the fact that people were simply incapable of following  _ simple _ orders.

“Um, Boss?” Tony snapped his head over in the direction of the young voice. He had forgotten that Harley was in the room for a moment. “It’s um-um… You know his Dad, like, beats him, right?”

Tony narrowed his eyes at him.

“What?!” Harley shrank back at the outburst. “Richard Parker? That tiny, flimsy little punk?” Harley didn’t answer him and remained stoically silent as he stood shoulder to shoulder with Happy. “How do you know this?”

“Well, like, I had to babysit… a lot.”

Tony raised his eyebrows, staring at him patronizingly as if he expected him to continue.

“After Mr. Parker’s wife got murdered a while ago there wasn’t really anyone to watch him, so he got into tons of trouble when he was by himself. I-I-I accidentally came in one day when he was getting yelled at for breaking a vile or, something like that, and after I saw it happen a couple more times I offered to watch him for Mr. Parker. It didn’t help completely since I only watch him during the day, but y’know, dads are pricks, so there wasn’t really much anyone could do.”

“What exactly did he do to Peter?” Tony asked with his chin raised and his nostrils still flared.

“Oh-uh I can’t be 100 percent sure, ‘cause Peter didn’t really talk all that much to me about it, but he was really scared of him - I know that. He had bruises sometimes, and a couple times he told me he wasn’t allowed to eat anything all day because he had done something bad the night before. It pissed me off, ‘cause Peter’s such a good kid, but there wasn’t much I could do without risking gettin’ shot or something.” Harley shrugged his shoulders innocently.

“Why is there a bruise around his neck?” Tony pressed him, stepping closer and staring him down as if he had all the answers.

“I-I don’t know… maybe he used Peter as a test dummy for his experiments or something when I was busy running an errand. He was always doing these crazy experiments...”

Harley trailed off softly when he saw the dangerous glint in the man’s eyes. Maybe he had said something he shouldn’t have… He heard the growl and he watched in fascination as the man’s face morphed quickly from anger to indifference right in front of him.

“Hm,” Tony hummed in acknowledgment, lifting his head at an angle to look down at Harley. He took a step closer to him and dropped his gaze to narrow his eyes. “So, you know him well then?”

“Well, I mean... “Harley trailed off, shrugging his shoulders, “not a whole lot. I just- I just… I was just there most of the time… I wasn’t even supposed to talk to him except for when I had to tell him not to do something, ‘cause Mr. Parker said that if Peter got attached to me he’d shoot me. I can’t even understand his logic anymore.” Harley rolled his eyes in exasperation, momentarily forgetting that he was speaking to an already very peeved off Tony friggin Stark. A very dangerous man who seemed to get really riled up at the mention of kids getting hurt.

Tony sniffed to mask the anger flaming in the pit of his stomach. He waved a hand in the air, averting his attention away from the teen and spinning on his heel to face his body towards the corner of the room where Peter still sat huddled against the wall. His chest seemed to press in on itself at the thought of what the little boy had been put through. It reminded him far too much of his father; a wicked man whom Tony resented with a growing passion. He hated that those actions were the norm for men in his profession, and like always, Tony had found a way to be indescribably different because he was too stubborn to accept that those fears and pains he felt as a child could be considered okay. His spite and his stubbornness to prove to his father and grandfather that he could be better than them drove him every day, and even at an early age, he vowed to be a better man and a better father than those two could ever be.

“Sir, I don’t think-” Happy began, but Tony cut him off with a dismissive wave of his hand.

“Hush Happy. Please escort Ms. Romanoff and Mr. Keener out of the office if you will. Mr. Keener is now under your 24/7 care and I expect you to tend to each of his needs which includes finding him a room and helping him settle in.” He glances over his shoulder to toss a glance at his bodyguard. “Do nothing beyond basic caretaking without my explicit permission.”

Happy grasped Harley’s upper arm in a tight grip, ready to pull him from the room as his Boss instructed, but Harley scowled at the offending hand and tugged his arm out of the older man’s grasp. Tony repressed a small smirk as the three of them exit the room with a respectful nod of their head towards him, Harley only imitating the gesture after watching the other two.

“Welp,” Tony smiled, biting down on his frustration and shooting a grin in Rhodes’ direction in an attempt to lift his own spirits, “time to test out those new daddy skills Pepper’s been hounding me ‘bout?”

The dark-skinned man rolled his eyes at him and rounded his desk to fall into his chair and get some work done. “Knock yourself out, man.”

Tony shakes his head in abject amusement and slowly approaches the other corner of the room with a bit of hesitance. He wasn’t overly fond of the fact that he had caused the child to burst into hysterics last time and he wasn’t exactly looking forward to the potential of it happening again. It made his skin crawl.

 He glances briefly at the large bookcase implanted in the side of one of the walls and his eyes glaze over the large, dusty books aligned neatly on the shelves to ease his thoughts before he jumps right into this whole… mess. Then, he glanced down at his feet and found himself nearly toe to toe with the small, quivering child.

He sighed to himself and stepped to the side. He lowered himself to the floor, pressing his back up against the wall.

“So, how old are ya, kiddo?” He asked softly, cocking his head to the side curiously. He summoned his inner goofball and threw his legs out in front of him so they were sprawled out sporadically across the wooden floor in a nonthreatening manner. Peter peeked up from his knees to glance at him with what looked to be a question in his eyes. His tiny brown eyes widened comically as he watched Tony’s every small movement, shining brightly with tears illuminated by the soft mellow light permeating in the room. His chubby cheeks were scratched, dirty and red, and his dry lips wobbled pitifully.

Tony waited patiently, resting his open hand on his knee, palm up. He read somewhere that showing your palm is a subconscious way of expressing openness and trust… which, to him, sounded like a bunch of bull… but what did he have to lose? Peter eyed the hand nervously, jaw twitching in discomfort as he pulled his knees closer to his chest. It seemed that he couldn’t decide between being okay with the situation and… well… not being okay.

“It’s alright Buddy,” Tony smiled fondly, wriggling his fingers playfully to encourage movement. The move typically worked on cats, and, yes, he knew the kid wasn’t a cat, but… it was worth a shot. He knew so very little about children and took every opportunity to steer clear of them. He was always kind to them, but he was still wary. He supposed this was good practice though, considering his own baby girl was due in about 3 months.

Peter’s gaze shot away from his hand and moved back up at Tony’s face when the man began to speak. He slowly raised a shaky hand up to hold out four fingers in answer to his question. He didn’t utter a word until Tony said nothing and urged him to speak with an expectant nod of his head.

“I’m this many,” he whispered shyly before lowering his hand and wrapping it around his knees once more. His chin started to quiver harshly once more.

“Really?” Tony mused with a faux lining of disbelief in his tone. “That’s crazy. My kiddo is only this many.” He held up the hand on his knee to curl it into a fist.

At that, Peter’s eyebrows furrowed in confusion and his head cocked to the side cutely. For a moment the fear was whisked away and replaced with a bemused quirk of his brow and his eyes lit up with childish disdain. It was quite cute.

Tony grinned at the display. “She’s zero years old… she hasn’t even been born yet.”

“Ohhh,” Peter mused quietly with just a tiny hint of a smile pushing through. He lowered his head again to rest his chin on his knees, but he didn’t shy away any further from the man, which Tony took as a success. “I’m a lot older than her.” He continued after another couple moments of silence.

“Yes, you are,” Tony affirmed with a nod of his head, slowly lowering his hand back to its original position on his knee to avoid spooking the kid.

It was refreshing to associate with a miniature person that didn’t seem to harbor hate or evil intents. There was always the possibility of there being an underlying motive, but his job was to read people and determine if he could give them his trust… and oddly enough, he trusted Peter. He had respect for him, and he could see his kind heart because despite all the trouble he’s been through… he’s still good. He didn’t resent the world like Tony did at his age. He didn’t kick and scream and threaten with violence. He didn’t spit or scowl. He was just a scared, innocent little boy, and he didn’t know what was going on. It amazed Tony that such a pure heart could be conceived by such an evil man.

“Ho-how many years are ‘ou?” Peter questioned meekly with a tiny, little-boy voice, tucking in closer to his knees as if he were afraid of asking the question.

“Wow,” Tony sighed dramatically, puffing out his cheeks with air, “ _ lots _ of years kiddo.  _ Soo _ many.”

A small giggle escaped from the kid and Tony’s head snapped over to catch him in the act. Immediately, though, Peter flinched away, covering his mouth hurriedly with fear pooling back into his eyes and tears beginning to leak as his body slowly shook with repressed sobs.

“No. Laugh,” Tony instructed desperately, “it’s okay to laugh. Laughing is good.”

“Oh,” Peter mused, “my Daddy say no laugh ‘oo much. It’s noi-noisy.”

Tony bristled slightly at the confession. He could vaguely remember the same instruction being directed towards him as a child. He’d laugh right in his father’s face as a response, because he was a brat with no self-preservation skills, and his father didn’t hesitate to pull out his belt and whip him till he was sobbing and begging for him to stop. All because he laughed… and it wasn’t until he was older, and he’d met Pepper that he learned it was okay. That strong men could laugh and still be strong.

“Well,” Tony smiled sweetly at him, “your dad’s wrong, alright? You laugh as much as you want to, you hear me? Laughing is good for you.” It came out as more of a command than anything else, and he silently cursed himself for it. That was something Pepper had been nagging him about, and he’d have to get a handle on it soon.

“Y-y-yes sir,” Peter cowered, nodding his head fervently.

Tony sighed inwardly. He risked a glance up towards his friend across the room to find the man busy at work, completely oblivious to his Boss’ attempts to win over the sulking child.

“How about this Buddy…” Tony paused, cocking his head to the side to glance down at the doe-eyed child. “You show me a nice big smile, and I’ll take you on a tour of my Tower.”

Peter’s head snapped up to look at the man, and sure enough, a big, ear-splitting grin grew across his face. “Like-like ac’ual S’ark ‘ower?”

“That’s the one,” Tony smiled, “I take it, you’ve heard a bit about it?”

Peter’s head nodded enthusiastically, releasing his tight hold on his legs. “Yes, p’ease.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you guys so much for reading! I love reading each and every one of your comments, they always make me smile so big! 
> 
> I'm sorry that it took so long for me to update. I've been so cram packed with work, school, and volunteer work that I just haven't had the time. But! I told my dog my whole plan for this story (I do that when I start losing track of where I'm going...) and everything is great! Typically after talking to him (he's not a superb listener lol... always walks off) I figure out the path and the intricacies and I get lots of inspiration. I used to do it a lot for my other stories and it helped tons but not much anymore... which wow. Now I see why I'm struggling lol. I'm gonna start running my ideas by him every night lol. Hopefully that'll keep me on my toes
> 
> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I'm used to doing super long chapters so literally... chapter 1 through this chapter were originally in just one document as the first chapter wowza! So, yeah, I'm splitting them into shorter segments... which means that this is all still the introduction, so sorry nothing super meaty has happened yet. But I DO have something planned... and it is going to blow your tiny little minds. hehehe


	6. Chapter 6

**_“New York City’s vigilante-esque crime organization, Shield, has been overridden by the Nazi terrorists best known as Hydra, and several Shield soldiers have been found dead, littering the streets of Brooklyn New York with a graphic message carved into their skin. Captain Steve Rogers of the NYPD has warned the citizens of the city to stay indoors and out of trouble while officials fight to get a handle on the rapidly spreading infestation of the Nazi organization and the pool of dead bodies that follow them. He has disclosed several secrets that had once belonged to Shield and the good they had done for the people despite their unorthodox ways. Now, as these secrets are being uncovered, many are lead to believe that Shield had been acting as what its name has insinuated: a shield to the innocent citizens of the United States, and without their protection many people are fleeing the state of New York out of panic and terror._ **

**_With many undercover Hydra agents impersonating law enforcement officers coming to light on their true identity, the people of New York have lost their trust in these officials and our government. President Ross has placed the blame upon Tony Stark and his organization because of the well-known influence his father and grandfather had had on both Shield and Hydra. He has signed an executive order for Tony Stark to be executed for his many crimes despite the people’s protests about their last line of defense against Hydra-”_ **

“This is just depressing JARVIS,” Tony scoffed in amusement, but his stiff demeanor was undeniable, “Next.”

JARVIS does as instructed and the holographic TV hovering a few feet away from his workstation flickered to the next news station.

**_“-Nick Fury, known leader of the crime organization Shield, has been killed by operatives of Hydra. Reports read that Hydra has been an unknown and unidentified part of Shield since it’s conception when it broke away from the Stark Family, a well-known crime family through America and Europe, after Leonard Stark’s death. The terrorist organization has been hiding in the shadows and has the potential to be lingering behind other doors that we are still unaware of. Many are speculating if Hydra was the reason for Tony Stark’s near downfall by the small Afghan terrorist organization, The Ten Rings, approximately 6 months ago before the betrayal of his father’s right-hand, Obadiah Stane was uncovered. Some believe it was merely a coincidence, but others feel it is correlated to the betrayal of Howard Stark’s long term right hand, and CFO of Stark Industries, Obadiah Stane. Many details point towards Stane being a long-time dedicated member of Hydra, and it only furthers President Ross’ reason for the court order that he has guaranteed will lead to a long awaited execution if everything goes to plan. Anthony Stark has been labeled as a terrorist and a threat to the world. Leads are still bringing to light new information about Stark and the presumed theory of his mob organization that has been circling for generations, and many people are being led to believe that the attempted assassination of Stark was an instruction to Stane from Hydra to eliminate any threat that could potentially stand in the way of their longtime goal of world domination. Ross and several army generals are in disagreement with the circulating theories regarding Stark and his organization. They are insistent that Stark has a strong influence, and even a potential leadership role dwelling within Hydra, and the fact that Stark’s main rival has been murdered, only further encourages them to believe that Anthony Stark has been manipulating the world this entire time, claiming to be the right to all the wrongs in the world. They believe that the elimination of Tony Stark will be the first step to cleansing us of Hydra once and for all. People around the globe who know of Tony Stark and his ways argue with the irrefutable fact that the man would never allow the terrible offences Hydra commits and he is our best chance at surviving the destruction Hydra will inevitably bring if nothing is done-”_ **

“Hm,” Tony hummed noncommittally, toying with his screwdriver as he attempted to loosen a pesky screw from his latest attempt to configure his hypothetical cloaking technology with a shaky hand. “Is there nothing good on today, JARVIS?” He holds up an open palm and quickly clenches his fingers together. JARVIS turns off the holographic screen in response.

“Many people are very worried about the recent infestation of Hydra, Sir. It is expected for most news reports to be circling about the latest attempt for world domination. You, Sir, however, are receiving a large amount of news coverage as well because of your known affiliation or- pardon, _lack_ of affiliation with Shield. Major conflict regarding you has broken out and not just among the US government.”

“Hmph,” Tony grunted in response, ignoring JARVIS’ attempt to make ‘light’ conversation, “Hydra should have killed me when they had a chance.”

“So, you believe the speculations that Mr. Stane was a conspirator with Hydra?”

“I don’t know,” Tony admitted with a shrug of his shoulders as he hunkered down lower to get a better look at the pieces he was soldering. “If he wasn’t, this would be a pretty great coincidence. Hydra has the perfect means to want me dead.”

“ _Many_ people want you dead, Sir.”

Tony couldn’t help the sly grin that split across his face. “Fair enough… but if Stane were working with Hydra… the world would be in pretty deep shit.”

“Why’s that sir.” JARVIS questioned.

“Nothing you need to worry yourself about JARVIS. Let me do the worrying around here.”

“I am unable to worry, Sir,” JARVIS answered, “I am here to be a physical and mental aid to you and nothing more. It is good for you to voice and work through your thoughts and opinions-”

“I know JARVIS-”

“Sir,” JARVIS immediately interrupted, his voice morphing with urgency, dropping the empathetic tone he was using for their previous discussion. “Phil Coulson of the fallen Shield is attempting to contact you.”

“Phil Coulson?” Tony frowned; eyebrows furrowed in confusion. “Didn’t I kill that dude years ago?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Hold it, save the number and trace the location. I don’t want to get involved with this Shield and Hydra nonsense until I can guarantee that my own men are clean and the news coverage about me has died down.”

“Very well Sir.” JARVIS replies.

There are no more interruptions for another couple hours, and Tony continues toying with the cloaking technology during that time. He had always been well known for his genius, but until as of late, he’d put little effort into anything but weapons and robotic aids. He had always had ideas, especially when he was younger and had a limitless imagination, but he’d never been able to actively work with them. It was different, tiring and exhilarating all at the same time to finally put his creative ideas into work, but the nagging feeling at the back of his skull had resulted in a swirling stomach and a cramped jaw.

Hydra was on the loose again. Shield was down. Nick Fury was dead. And most of his own good soldiers had needed to be killed by his own hand. He was on his back, belly up. He had no plan, no weapons, no upper-hand, and he could feel the dread seeping into his bones as his hands shook uncontrollably above the circuit board.

He had a daughter on the way, a wife, friends, and an entire new recruitment of untrained soldiers that were all depending on him and he had to do something to minimize the threat when Hydra inevitably came after him. So, he dropped the circuit board and pushed away from the desk, dropping himself in front of another. His eyes burned with fury, and his brows creased together in determination as he picked up the enhanced revolver that had been discarded days ago on the desk and got to work once more.

* * *

 “Sir,” JARVIS begins, interrupting the genius’ work with what seemed like an exasperated sigh, “it seems that Mr. Hogan has had enough of his babysitting duties and has requested to get back to work with training the new recruits. I believe you would say he is ‘throwing a tantrum’.”

Tony chuckled under his breath at the thought, a smidgen of relief clearing a few the dark images of death swirling through his thoughts. The poor man had never been a fan of kids, and, really, the only reason he had stuck the bodyguard with Keener and Parker was to see his face when he did. It wasn’t a disappointment by any means. It was beyond priceless and he told JARVIS to save the picture for forever, and at the thought of that… a small smile broke away at his troubled frown.

“Tell ‘im to drop them off with Rhodey for a while.” He answered through another soft chuckle. He loaded the gun he was working on with a few self-made tracer bullets and pulled back the chamber with a soft click. He cocked his head to the side and lifted the lightweight weapon with one arm to line up with the target several feet into his workshop.

“I believe it may be a bit late for that, sir-” Just as JARVIS finished speaking, the wooden door to his workshop is thrown open without any warning. He sighed and rolled his eyes - he was far too used to the noise to be startled by it - and lowered the gun to point safely at the ground.

“I’ve had it up to here!” Happy shouted angrily, storming into the room with a wailing child in his arms and a grinning teenager following behind him. Rhodey stood beside him, shaking his head in amused disappointment as he held the door open for the fuming man.

“Nuh-uh. No kids in here.” Tony states firmly, clicking on the safety of his gun and tucking it into his waistband before moving forward to shoo the four of them out of his workshop. He ignores the high-pitched wails emitting from the flailing Parker kid in Happy’s arm and turns towards Harley, who had apparently grown a pair during the week of his stay, and who had caught sight of the array of weapons across his desk. The kid moved forward with an excited twinkle in his eye as he stared at the display of never before seen weapons. Tony frowned at his exuberance and blocked his path with his own body and with his arm out to push the boy back.

“What’s that?!” Harley exclaimed curiously, trying to catch a peek at the guts of a massive, disassembled gun from over the taller man’s shoulder.

“Nothing you should be messing with.” Tony growled out monotonously, giving the boy one last good shove to set him on a path leading out of the room.

“I won’t mess anything up, I swear it! I made a potato gun myself when I was like 8, so I totally know how to handle a gun. Oscorp taught me all about it, I won’t hurt myself-”

“No minor is going to be handling anything more dangerous than a knife around here. Understand?” Tony instructed pointedly with an irritated glare flitting behind his stern gaze as he jabbed a finger into the boy’s chest.

For a moment, Tony sees a small flicker of fear pass across the kid’s face when he undoubtedly came to realize he had angered the man in some way, and the kid immediately backs off, hands twitching nervously. Tony growls frustratedly under his breath, gritting his teeth together at the horrific sound of babyish screams, and takes another step forward to finish ushering everyone out of the room completely He closes the door firmly behind him, ignoring the fear-induced distraught on the teen’s face and instead turning to his two best friends.

“Why’d you bring the kids into my shop?”

“How were we supposed to know, Tony?” Rhodey questions with a role of his eyes. “This is the first time we’ve ever had kids in the Tower. There’s never been a rule about kids in your workshop.”

“If it would be Morgan would you bring her into the most hazardous area of this entire Tower?” Tony snaps patronizingly.

Rhodey scoffed. “That’s different Tones. Morgan’s gonna be _your_ kid-”

“How’s that any different?” Tony insisted vehemently, eyes narrowing into a defensive glare.

Rhodey’s mouth opened and closed in confusion for a couple moments before Tony spoke up again.

“Well now you know,” Tony replied snappishly before turning to look at the troubled toddler in Hogan’s arms. “What’s wrong with the Parker kid?”

“He just started screaming about going home to his mother...” Happy answered blandly, moving forward with his arms outstretched in an attempt to push the kid off on Tony, but Tony was quicker than him. He took two large steps backwards and lifted his hands to busy them by brushing at his shirt.

“Well, there’s nothing we can do about that,” Tony replied with an innocent shrug of his shoulders.

“And why not?” Rhodey questioned a bit indignantly as he turned his body to face his Boss.

“We’d lose leverage that way,” Tony shrugged. “His father still hasn’t responded to our demands and his mother is dead.”

Both Rhodey and Happy frowned at him, but he kept a straight face. The kid only seemed to scream louder at that.

“Aren’t _you_ the one all against holding kids captive for our own gain?” Rhodey pointed out, a small scowl creeping down from the corners of his mouth.

“Yeah, only when their father’s aren’t complete asshats.” Tony sniffed, cocking his head to the side a bit condescendingly. Before Rhodey or Happy could retort, he turned to look at Harley with his chin lifted in just a way so he was looking down at the kid domineeringly. “How comfortable is Peter with you?”

“Uhhhh,” Harley trails off, lowering his voice and his head to stare at his feet, “I don’t know. He doesn’t really seem all that-”

“You look at me when you speak to me,” Tony interrupted, chucking a finger beneath the kid’s chin to raise his head.

“Um-um… I-I think he likes me alright. He doesn’t seem to be very responsive to me right now though,” he answered, making sure to keep his eyes locked with the older man’s.

“Hmm, bummer,” Tony mused turning once more to look at Happy struggle to hold onto the thrashing child. “Put the kid down Hap. He’s gonna end up giving himself a hernia with the way he’s squirming around.”

Happy did as he was told and lowered the squirming kid to the ground. That seemed to be a mistake, though, because as soon as Peter’s feet hit the floor, he released a loud warrior-like banshee scream and ran straight at Tony with his brows furrowed in untamed anger.

“I want my MAMA!!” He screamed, throwing his tiny fists at Tony’s thigh and kicking at his shin a few good times before spinning on his heels with a slight stumble to try and escape down the empty hall.

It was a very sad attempt at an attack.

“Yeah… no,” Tony sighed tiredly, reaching out to scoop the kid off the floor before he could book it down the hall. The boy struggled against Tony’s strong arm wrapped around his waist as he hoists the kid up against his hip as if he were holding a basketball. His little legs kicked wildly, and his face was beat red from the strain of his angry screaming. “Let’s not do that kid.” He reached out to clamp his other hand over the boy’s mouth to muffle the god-awful screams. The kid bit at his hand and he could the vibrations of angry growls against his palm, but he held it there despite it.

“Tony,” Rhodey placated, eyeing the squirming boy, “I don’t think we should keep him here.”

“Then what should we do? Send him back boo-hoo crying to his abusive father so he can get beat some more for being a pitiful little crying wimp? Back to Osborn right before we’re gonna burn him and his sorry men to the ground? Is that what we should do Rhodey?” Tony feels a bit of anger flare up in his stomach and he unconsciously tightens his hold on the kid as if he were afraid Rhodey would try and take him away. There was too much running through his head to get a proper handle on his emotions like he usually did, and this overabundance of anger seemed to be following him around constantly lately and he couldn’t seem to get rid of it.

“We don’t know if he was abusive Tony,” Rhodey sighed. “We only have speculation based off what Keener thinks he knows.”

“But what if he is abusive?” Tony fires back furiously. “Why else were there bruises circling his neck when we found him, Rhodes?”

“Tony, listen,” Rhodey sighed softly, lowering his voice in an attempt to calm the man from his anger, “I know that this is a sensitive topic for you… but doing this would be breaking your own rules man. You can’t just tear a child away from his family.”

“He doesn’t have a family there anymore,” He growled out through a gasped breath. Tony could feel his throat tighten and he quickly clamps his teeth together tightly - so much so that it hurts - to avoid spiraling into a deep pit of panic. He was a grown man for god’s sake. He shouldn’t be affected by the abuse he suffered as a _child_. Especially since he’s a Stark… because Stark men are made of iron and that pain he endured was only to build him up… to make him stronger. It wasn’t something to be afraid of; it wasn’t. He was a grown man, a criminal, a murderer, a person who shouldn’t be affected by minor events of his childhood.

“Boss?” Harley questions tentatively, stepping forward and lifting his hand to reach out for the man, but thinking better of it moments later and dropping the limb. “Are-are -”

“Just!” Tony snapped through clenched teeth, holding up the hand covering Peter’s mouth to silence the other boy. “Just hush.” He moves to rub at his forehead and Peter continues his angry wriggling and pitiful cries for release. _(“Lemme go! Lemme go!” )_

“Alright, here’s what's gonna happen. Happy… you’re going to take Harley down to the 12th floor and start on his training-”

“Tony, we don’t work with child soldiers!” Rhodey barked defiantly.

“Shut up!” Tony shouted angrily. The whole room quieted, and even Peter stopped squirming, lapsing back into soft whimpers and sobs as the tension in the room grew.

“I give the orders here Rhodes,” he responds menacingly, “so shut up and _listen_ for once in your goddamn life.” He couldn’t help but notice how Harley shrunk even further away from him to stand closer Happy. “Harley needs to learn some self-defense, because I’m not gonna let him out of this Tower alone until I know for a fact that he is capable of defending himself, understand?”

He could see Rhodey visibly gritting his teeth. “And I’ll be taking Peter off your hands. Pepper will know what to do with him.”

With those last words, he waves the other three off and spins on his heel to head for the elevator with Peter draped over his arm like a limp rag doll. “And have Allen send out another message to Richard. I’m getting sick of waiting.”

He gets no response because he’s already in the elevator and the doors were already closing. He breathes out a strangled breath, releasing his pent-up anger and the mountain of tension that had built up on his shoulders. He could feel the weight lift off his chest and he could finally stop shaking.

The quiet calms him, and after a few moments he opens his eyes again and directs his attention to the crying child pressed against his hip. His breaths come out a bit more ragged, and he could feel his eyes begin to sting at the overwhelming intensity of all that was going on. His throat clenches as he recounts the last few moments.

“Hey buddy,” he supplied softly, speaking through a gravelly voice and thick, sticky saliva. He gently moved the kid away from his hip and lifted him, so he was properly cradled against his chest. Slinging one arm beneath his legs to support him and using the other hand to brace against his back. He inches the hand up to the back of his neck and directs the kid’s head to lie in the crook between his shoulder and neck, so the soft cries are muffled by his skin. He shushes the kid quietly while he lifts his hand further to pet his hair soothingly. He just hoped that Pepper would be able to help.

“It’s okay,” he whispers quietly with his thick, staticky voice. He squeezed his eyes shut because he didn’t know it he meant it for the kid or for himself.

“I wan’ my Ma-mama,” the boy choked out between sobs and Tony’s chest constricted around his heart once more and he couldn’t freaking breathe.

“I know Bubba,” he choked, “… I know, but she isn’t here right now.”

“I wan’ ‘er!” Peter wailed.

“I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading you guys! I really love hearing what you have to say and it always makes me smile! Thank you so so so so much for your support. I love you all immensely.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> His mind just wouldn't stop screaming

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Be warned, out of all of them, this is a pretty trigger-y chapter...

The ride in the elevator was long and tortuous. Or, at least, that’s what it felt like while he was struggling to keep a hold of a distressed toddler in his arms. Peter continued sobbing and wailing, and Tony could feel the tears and snot soaking through his workshop T-shirt. It was beyond uncomfortable, sure, but he felt that it was a good learning experience. He needed to be ready for whatever was thrown at him when his daughter was born; quite literally. Whether it be barf, snot, poop, or some other figurative melodramatic drama he's heard was oh so popular with girls. He’s heard that having a baby is just a little messy sometimes.

He had to keep telling himself that. He chanted it over and over in his head whenever he would have a fleeting thought about dropping the boy to his own tiny feet to deal with grief on his own _(Practice, Practice, Practice)_. Or to take Rhodey’s and Happy’s advice to send him back to Oscorp, where he would continue to be subject to Richard Parker’s sorry excuse for parenting _(Practice, Practice, Practice)_. He needed to pretend it was Morgan, because he would never dare to write off her distress like his father had done to him.

It was definitely a learning experience, because he’d never actually been around a child for longer than approximately 5 minutes. He tried his best to steer clear of them most of the time… so maybe Pepper had a point about that whole ‘you need practice’ thing.

So, yeah... _good practice._

Pepper would probably think so as well. She has been worrying constantly about whether or not she could be a good mother, despite Tony’s frequent assurances that she would be the best to ever live… _he_ was the one they have to worry about.

He shook his head and huffed in irritation, patting the back of the wailing boy in his arms as he stared at the elevator doors, willing them to open. He knew Pepper would enjoy the company, and she was already an amazing mother despite Morgan not even being born yet… she’d be a much better caregiver than Happy had been over the past few days. It would make the transition easier on Peter, especially considering the boy was crying out for the mother that had died a year prior. Maybe she’d know how to make him stop screaming too…

When Peter released another pitiful wail, he grimaced and bounced the boy in his arms, hushing him all the while. He had no idea what to _do_. The screams were getting louder and more insistent and Tony couldn’t help but wish that he was secretly a child-whisperer. He stared up at the floor numbers longingly, willing the elevator to climb the last 20 floors as quickly as possible, because as soon as he reached Pepper, the sooner he could be relieved of his babysitting duties and the quicker she’d be able to calm the child down.

“It’s okay Buddy,” He whispered desperately.

“No, it’s not!” Peter argued with another anguished wail which was thankfully muffled by Tony’s shoulder when the child head-butted his collarbone.

The kid was definitely one for dramatics, that was for sure.

“You killt my Mama! You killt ‘‘er! You took ‘er ‘way from me fo’ever! Giver ‘er back to me you ‘ick.”

Tony wasn’t all too sure what he was supposed to say to that. He didn’t know where in the world the outburst came from, what had triggered it, or if Peter even understood what he was accusing him of. He had absolutely no recollection of killing Mary Parker. Though he’d gladly shoot Richard Parker in the face for the things he’s done for people over the years… what he’s done to Peter, but he would never consider killing the man’s wife unless he was given proof of her treachery.

It puzzled him to think that Peter was bringing it up now… The boy had had plenty of opportunity over the course of the last week to release his anger and accuse him of killing his mother, but he hadn’t. They had gotten along fairly well, or at least he thought they did, on the couple of occasions they had actually interacted.

He counted to 10 and released a long breath.

“Now, who in the world told you that, hm?” Tony questioned softly, cocking his head to the side to look down at the boy clinging to his body despite his belief that the man had killed his mother.

“My Dad ‘old me was you,” Peter sniffed pitifully.

“Well, I can promise you that it wasn’t me. I don’t kill people unless they’re bad and they deserve it. As far as I know, your mother didn’t deserve it.”

Peter’s cries quietened to soft whimpers, and Tony could feel his tiny fists curl into the back of his shirt. “So-so you’re gonna kill my Daddy.”

Tony stiffened, and froze. Yes, he was… but he couldn’t tell Peter that. “Now why would I do that Pete?”

“He’s bad,” Peter whispered simply, turning his head so he could press his nose into Tony’s neck.

Tony grimaced as the kid rubbed his snot-nosed face all over the skin of his neck, but his racing heart quickly won over his disgust. If he had doubts about keeping Peter from his father before, he most definitely didn’t anymore.

“Do you trust me?” Tony whispered softly, rubbing Peter’s back gently when he finally kicked himself out of his surprised stupor. He could feel Peter’s nod, and he had to purse his lips because that only further proved the point rattling around in his head. Peter trusted a stranger’s word. A stranger who he had surely been taught was a terrible, evil, ruthless man that had killed his mother, more than his very own father, who he believed to be the exact same.

“Alright then. You let me worry about all that stuff, okay?” He paused and glanced up at the floor number displayed above the elevator doors. He was happy to see that they were practically there. He needed to distract the kid before he asked any more honest and practical questions, because he wasn’t sure if he was supposed to lie to him or tell him the truth. He’s pretty sure that telling a four-year-old child that the man holding him planned to torture and maim his last living relative wouldn’t go over very well. So, he opted to use a distraction.

“I have someone very special that I’d like you to meet.”

He smiled gratefully to himself as the elevator doors opened for him, and he stepped out into his personal penthouse. He saw Pepper sitting at their couch with her back to them, curled up reading a book. Peter looked up from his shoulder briefly to catch a glimpse of the woman, before hiding shyly back into his neck.

“Honey,” Tony called softly, “I have someone I’d like you to meet.”

Pepper turned around at his voice, wearing a carefree smile. Then she saw the boy cradled in his arms and her smile dropped quickly into a worried frown. Tony hurried to the couch, eager to quiet the boy’s crying, tugging Peter away from his body to drop him beside the woman, practically right in her lap. He took the seat on his other side; officially smushing the boy between their two bodies.

“Tony,” she whispered under his breath as she glanced down at the cowering boy with fresh tears spilling down his round cheeks. She reached out to cup his cheek gently and swiped her thumb beneath his eye to brush away one of his little tears. His little lip wobbled as he stared up at her through watery eyes, and Tony could only look on proudly because he was most definitely right. Pepper knew exactly what to do.

“What’s your name, baby?” She whispered softly, brushing his soft curls away from his eyes with her other hand.

“P-P-Pe’er,” he answered shyly, subtly leaning into her soft touch. His chin quivered as he nuzzled lovingly into the hand cupping his face.

Tony’s heart lurched… the kid was touch starved.

“Oh, Peter,” Pepper smiled, “what a beautiful little name. Now, tell me why you’re crying baby?”

Peter’s little lip only wobbled harder, and more tears spilled from his eyes. Tony’s eyebrows etched closer together in worry.

“C-Cuz-cuz… my-my Daddy killt my Mama and said _he-he_ did it,” he pointed at Tony shakily, “but he say he didn’t… and now Mr. ‘appy ‘nd Rhodey wants me to go back to him and he gonna be so mad!” His eyes clamped shut and he released a pitiful wail when he finished, clapping his hands over his mouth as he sobbed.

“Oh, my baby,” Pepper cooed softly, reaching out to scoop the boy into her arms, cradling him gently against her chest as she subtly rocked her body back and forth to soothe him. She shot Tony a dangerous look as she pressed her cheek against the boy’s curls. She wanted to kill Richard too, that much was obvious. But Tony already had plans to beat her to it.

He stared down at the small boy curled around his wife’s large baby bump, face pressed into her collarbone as he cried. It made him angry.

It made him really angry; a feeling he’s become all too familiar with the past few weeks.

* * *

He left Peter with Pepper. She’d do a much better job taking care of Peter than he’d ever be able to do, at least emotionally… he could take care of the boy in other ways. Such as making sure he never had to see his father’s disgusting face ever again. To make sure Richard Parker gets what he deserves, and justice is served right. That was his job… even Peter felt that his father deserved to die.

Richard Parker broke the rules, and he’d have to pay for what he did. And the cost was a lot more than an easy death. His sins would have to be paid through suffering and pain, and Tony didn’t have any problem with that.

He could feel the familiar rage bubbling up in the pit of his stomach, and he strained his body to fight against it. The panic of Hydra, his execution, Stane, The Ten Rings, Oscorp, and now the frequent reminder of his childhood traumas, were just building off of eachother. It was one major source of anxiety and panic after another. No wonder he couldn’t seem to control his anger anymore. Soon, a large, unstable tower of anxiety was built inside of him and he couldn’t freaking breath! It was swaying back and forth, threatening to crash and fall on him, and he’s afraid that if it happens - if he loses complete control - he wouldn’t be able to get back up.

As he was storming down the halls, desperate to get back to his office so he could scream and cry and collapse into a shaky mess of panic, he was intercepted by Harley who had been idly lurking around the hall, as if waiting for him to appear.

“Is-is Peter okay?” He asked quickly, jumping into step with Tony and matching his pace.

“He’s fine,” Tony answered snappishly. He could feel his heartbeat hammering all the way up in his throat.

“O-oh… are you angry? You seem angry.”

“I’m fine,” Tony replied after releasing a long breath.

“Oh, okay. You seemed kinda shaken up when you left. Rhodey said that the whole abuse thing was sensitive for you… Is that why you were freaked out?” Tony puffed out another breath and he felt his hand start to shake.

“Geez, kid,” he sighed, “why do you ask so many questions?”

“I’m just-I’m just tryin’ to help…” There was a brief lull in conversation and Tony could finally feel his arm again. Being around another person forced him to stay calm and remain in control... but then the kid had to open his stupid mouth. “Y’know, it’s okay if you were freaked. My Dad did the same thing to me… I’m glad he left when I was little, so I didn’t have to deal with it as long as you. You could probably consider seeing someone…”

Tony felt his hand start to shake again. His annoyance flared, feeding off the anger and anxiety he had already been feeling and he grit his teeth together to prevent himself from doing something he’d regret doing. His whole body felt strained from the constant withholding of his emotions and he wanted it to stop… but he _needed_ to control his anger.

“Are you upset now? Am I making you upset? I can stop-”

“Could you?” Tony snapped through a gasped breath, curling his fingers into a fist.

“Yeah-yeah, I’m sorry. You sure you’re okay?”

Then he felt a tentative hand reach out to grasp onto his left wrist gently. There was a flash of red and all he could remember were the numerous times his father had grabbed ahold of that wrist, only to snap it moments later… because he didn’t need that hand to shoot a gun, design a weapon, or throw a punch. He remembered his healed wrist gripped tightly in his father’s hand as the man forced it into position before slamming the car door on his tiny fingers He remembered that those were the same fingers his captors had snapped one by one when he refused to help them… and he just… he just _snapped_.

It happened in a second. It happened before he could think, before he could stop himself, because it was instinct. Instinct driven by fear, and in that moment all he felt was pure unadulterated fear.

He spun on his heels, wide eyes flaring with an untamed anger and his mouth bent down into a furious scowl. His right hand strained stiffly at the base of the kid’s neck, fingers itching to close around him, but he didn’t let his fingers so much as brush against the kid’s skin because if he did, he knew he wouldn’t be able to restrain himself. His insides were screaming, his mind was screaming, his shaking hand shaking just an inch away from the kid’s neck was screaming. Everything was screaming! He couldn’t breathe because he was one move away from strangling an innocent kid and he couldn’t drop his goddamn hand!

“Tony?” The kid choked out softly, staring at the arm outstretched towards his body with shiny eyes and stuttered breaths as he fought back the tears.

Harley was scared! Harley was scared! He was scaring him! Tony was scaring him! He was about to hurt him! Oh god…

He couldn’t help but picture the dark bruises that he had found ringed around Peter’s neck, no doubt a result of a certain man’s uncontrolled anger. He was no better than the man’s pleas for mercy he wished to listen to as he ripped him open one slit at a time. He was about to hurt a kid.

He gasped for air, huffing as he drew in breath after breath to fill his screaming lungs. He dropped his hand as if it had been burned and he stepped forward, lifting his other arm to pull the kid flush against him, because he wouldn’t be able to hurt him when he was this close, surely.

He felt his entire body shaking with shudders, because he could still hear the screaming and it wouldn’t go away. He almost hurt the kid he promised to protect.

“I’m sorry,” Tony whispered hoarsely, gripping the kid’s shoulder tightly as he propped his chin atop the boy’s head pulling him securely against his body. He swears he could feel the kid shaking too. “I’m sorry, Kid. I’m sorry.”

“I-It’s okay. You’re overwhelmed. I get it,” Harley spoke, muffled against Tony’s shirt as the man tightened his hold.

“There’s no excuse,” Tony replied, releasing the kid’s shoulder to grasp the back of his neck firmly. He ignored the shudders that ran through him at the action, and he pulled away from the kid so he could look the kid in the eyes. He needed to _understand_.

Harley stared at him; jaw clenched together tightly. “Don’t ever excuse something like that. I’m sorry. It won’t happen again.”

Harley nodded stiffly at him and Tony released him, taking several steps away.

“You know I’d never hurt you on purpose, right?’

“Yessir,” Harley said with another nod of his head.

“Okay,” Tony breathed, still searching to catch his breath. “Okay good.” He averted his eyes and angled his body away. “I-I think for now… it’d be best if you weren’t alone with me. Okay?”

“O-okay,” Harley choked out.

“Just for a little while.” Tony assured. Then with that he spun on his heel and dashed quickly towards his office, leaving Harley behind.

He couldn’t believe he was tempted to do something so cruel.

* * *

By the time ten minutes had been spent in his office, it was a complete warzone. Papers, cash, and weapons were strewn all over the room. Knives were imbedded into the wall and several scotch glasses had been shattered. It wasn’t a pleasant sight.

When those ten minutes were up, Allen was there, breathing heavily and trying his best to not notice the disarray of the room.

“Sir, I talked to Richard Parker. JARVIS is holding him on the line for you. He wishes to speak about Peter.”

Tony offered the man a smile and waved him off, collapsing into his desk chair as he gripped his shaking wrist. “Thanks Allen. You did good. I’ll have JARVIS set you with a good bonus.” That was all the man needed before he was speeding out of the office.

Tony closed his eyes, counted to 10, picked up the phone and held it to his ear.

“Talk.” He snarled impatiently into the receiver.

“Nice to speak with you too, Stark,” Richard laughed humorously. “I heard you have my little boy. I’d appreciate it if you’d give him back.”

“And why do you think I’d do such a thing like that.” Tony asked with a humorous lilt to his voice.

“What do you want for him?” Richard responded tersely.

“Well, who said I wanted anything from you?”

There was a small pause on the other end as Richard contemplated his insinuation, and Tony could feel his jaw cramping together once again.

“You always want something.” Richard accused venomously. “Just tell me what you want.”

“Tell me why you want him back so badly. Does he know something you don’t want me finding out? Does he have something? There has to be a reason beyond just wanting your child Richard. I know you well enough to know that’s not what you’re really after.”

“Give me back my son, Stark.” Richard threatened with a growl.

“He’s not your son,” Tony spat out angrily. “You don’t treat your son the way you treat him. You won’t be getting him back anytime soon.”

“Oh please!” Richard scoffed, “Is that what this is about?! Do you really think he’d rather be raised by the man that killed his mother instead of his own father? He gets punished because he needs to learn Stark. How I raise my son is none of your concern. Your father knew what he was doing, but you still turned out weak and helpless.”

That hit a nerve. It always hit a nerve, because he was not weak! He wasn’t! He was a Stark! His father raised him to be strong, dependable, and respectable, and that’s exactly what he is. And as much as he despised his father, he couldn’t help but strive to match his cunning personality and abilities.

“It is my business when you break one of my explicit rules, Richard.” Tony forced out between gritted teeth.

“You’re such a coward,” Richard spat in turn with a shaky voice. “Only a coward is as gullible and weak-hearted as you. You have no backbone, Stark. Your inability to do what needs to be done is going to be the fall of your organization! You are a disgrace to your family name! No Stark but you has ever been afraid of hurting a woman or child because they understood the concept of greater good! What needed to be done! Maybe if you weren’t so afraid, you’d finally get ahead of the game, and maybe your men wouldn’t go behind your back and try to kill you when they realize your true self. But poor ol’ Daddy beat ya, didn’t he? Well, guess what Stark?! News flash! My Daddy beat me too Stark! He beat me an’ look at what I’ve accomplished!” The man laughed through the receiver, and Tony repressed the growl building in the back of his throat. “I’m carrying on the Parker legacy Stark. My Daddy got beat, I got beat, and so will my son. You’re just too blinded by your fear to see the need for it. Peter learns with the way we do things. That’s what’s best for him. So… just send him back to me. You’re obviously not fit to raise him.”

* * *

“I want Richard Parker. Right here, kneeling and begging for mercy in front of my desk,” Tony snarled. He settled Natasha with an intense glare as he leaned back against his office desk with his arms crossed over his chest.

“Just Richard?” Natasha asked with a raised brow. “Not Osborn?”

“I don’t have a personal vendetta against Osborn right now,” Tony answered monotonously. “I need Osborn standing so he can watch the downfall. But I want Richard… I want him dead, and I want to kill him.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was an interesting one for me to write. I'm sorry for the long waits between updates, I'll definitely try to do better about that
> 
> And if you guys have any ideas at all, please let me know. I'm more than happy to hear them and maybe it'll give me some inspiration.
> 
> Thanks for reading though! I love you guys so so so so so so much!!!! <3333


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's some more plot...

“So, you mean to tell me that Stane was dealing behind our backs this whole time?” Rhodey questioned angrily, pacing back and forth in front of his Tony’s desk after he vaguely absorbed the information that had just dumped on him. 

After Tony had gotten off the phone with Richard… it had set him off. He needed to get some things off his chest, because the pressure kept piling on, and he didn’t know how much longer he’d be able to carry the load by himself before he collapsed. There was just too much on his plate, and there was far too much to worry about. He had already lashed out more times than he could count; heck, he nearly strangled Harley in the hallway earlier. And he was sick and tired of Rhodey questioning every single thing he did as if he were a complete and utter blubbering idiot. 

“That’s what I said Rhodey. He had been smuggling my weapons to terrorists and making deals with the Ten Rings behind our backs the whole time. He worked directly through Ross and who knows how many more psychos. I think there’s still a lot more to this than what I know,” Tony replied monotonously, watching as his second-hand wore a hole in his expensive carpet. He couldn’t really blame Rhodey for it, because he’d done just about the same thing when he discovered the truth about his father’s old right-hand, albeit with much more anger, many more broken glasses, and several knives in the walls. Along with a few self-destructive decisions that nearly lead to a complete mental breakdown or potentially painful, and appealing death. He’s quite sure he’s balancing on that thin line leading to a hysteric mental breakdown. “And I’m sure you’ve seen the news… people are speculating that he had worked with Hydra too.” 

Rhodey looked at him seriously. “Do  _ you _ think it’s possible he could have been working for Hydra?”

“I think it’s a fairly possibility… but I hope he wasn’t. We’d definitely be screwed if that were the case.” 

Rhodey’s eyes widened comically. “How so?” 

Tony raised a brow at him. “Think about it Honeybear… Obie was working with the  _ government _ . The one organization that I have no control over unless I take over the world or something… If Ross turns out to be Hydra… just think of what could happen. World domination? That’d be easy for him. He’s already got an executive order for my execution, and nobody would ever blink an eye at him until it was too late. He has the means to fund Oscorp and whatever death ray their working on these days, and he knows that at this point I’m the only one with the means to expose him and stop them... All in all? Not good Rhodes. It puts us in deep, deep shit.” 

Poor Rhodey looked like he was about to cry, and Tony could totally relate. 

Heck, both he and Rhodey trained right under the man when they were younger. He was their mentor. Rhodey looked up to him just almost as much as Tony had. To think he had been working for Hydra on the side? The organization Howard Stark had helped to ‘defeat’ during WWII? Yeah, not the best news. 

“What was his reason? What was he trying to do? Does Pepper know?” Rhodey paused in his pacing to settle the Stark with an irritated glare. “And why am I just finding out  _ now _ ? It’s been nearly six months, Tony! I should have known about this sooner!” 

“First off,” Tony began with an irritated lining to his voice, “Pepper is not to know anything about this. She’s stressed enough as it is, and that’s exactly why Banner put her on bed rest. If I hear you’ve slipped a single word of this to her, I won’t hesitate to demote you. I’m sure Happy would be ecstatic to have your position.” His nose twitched in annoyance, and Rhodey rolled his eyes because they both knew that was a bald-faced lie. Tony wouldn’t survive without Rhodey and Pepper to be his voice of reason. The Stark was good at what he did, there was no doubt about that, but sometimes… he could be unstable, especially when it came to copious amounts of stress like this. 

“The Ten Rings, Oscorp, and even the government have been in cahoots behind our back, and Obie was just trying to save his own tail. They had wanted my father dead, and now they want me dead. That’s what this is about,” Tony growled. “They want any trace of the Starks wiped clean off the face of this Earth so they can get on with the dirty work I won’t let pass around here so they don’t have to worry about me getting in the way. Stane hired guns to get close to me before the Ten Rings kidnapping thing happened… lots of ‘em. Assassins, mercenaries, idiots who didn’t know any better… So, I weeded out the double agents before they had the opportunity to blow my brains out, and I cut off our deal with the DOD ‘cause I don’t need them turning around and selling my specially made weapons to Oscorp or The Ten Rings so they could take me out… if they do turn out to be Hydra… God this is all just so messed up.” Tony groans and shakes his head in frustration. “As for you… well, I’m sorry. I guess I just needed to wrap my head around it all first… and I just had to make sure you hadn’t gone to the dark side either. For all I knew, Stane had converted you and I was down a trustworthy friend… I just had to be sure before I spilled all my secrets. I need at least some type of advantage, y’know.” Tony shrugged his shoulders with a tiny grin to highlight his amusement, and Rhodey just glared back at him offendedly. “Don’t take it personally Platypus. I didn’t know who I could trust. Heck, I looked up to Stane more than I looked up to my own father. Known him since I was a little baby… and I was just… It was just a little off putting, I guess. My trust issues have just gotten worse from there, and you should have seen how many of  _ my  _ men has turned faithful to that bastard as if he were their god. They died pledging their loyalty to him. It was disgusting.” 

Rhodey nodded numbly, gritting his teeth together sympathetically for his Boss. “What now Tony? What are we supposed to do? This is bigger than both of us...” 

“Well, based off what I’ve been able to put together about Oscorp from Harley they’re doing something stupid. I can’t be sure they’re Hydra yet… I just  _ really  _ want them to be. I hate those idiots. I need to talk to Richard Parker though. He’s the brains behind it all.” Tony stood from his desk and rustled through a large pile of papers strewn across his desk. “According to Romanoff’s most recent scope, Oscorp’s in the middle of developing a radioactive serum, and Richard’s the head scientist. I don’t know if this is just another one of his eccentric projects he’s doing just for the hell of it, or what. It just doesn’t sound like a great thing for a psychopath to have on hand. If I can get to him, Banner and I can come up with a way to counteract it after beating the truth out of him so we have something just in case… and I got a feeling the Ten Rings are working with them. They’re trying to build a weapon to release something serum into the atmosphere and I don’t think there can be such a big coincidence like that.” He found the paper he was looking for and pulled it out. He gestured for Rhodey to follow him across the room, towards the large table with contracts, weapons, and cash scattered across it. He unfolded the faded paper and flattened it against the hardwood of the table. “I sketched out the basic schematics for the weapon while I was there. I was only able to get a few glimpses at it. They were pretty careless with what they showed me.” 

“Woah,” Rhodey breathed as his eyes glossed over the complicated equations scrawled alongside the darkened outlines of the large machine. “This… we  _ are _ in deep shit, man.” 

Tony smirked and chuckled. “Well thank you for confirming my previous statement Captain Obvious.” He pointed to the center of the drawing. “This is the power core. That’s all they had needed to finish. That’s what they had needed me for… It’s why they didn’t kill me off the bat.” 

“So, what? They’re gonna power it and give us all cancer of something to get rid of us?” 

“Well, I don’t know…” Tony shrugged, “If they end up using Parker’s crap… things may be a bit worse.” 

Rhodey narrowed his eyes at him. “What’s that supposed to mean?” 

Tony closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm himself. “I’ve looked at a few of the components of the little plague serum Parker and Osborn are cooking up and-and it’s beyond anything I’ve seen. It’s adaptable, and it only latches to specific genetic strands… I-I don’t know which ones yet until I can actually get my hands on the stuff. This-this might literally be Hitler all over again, Rhodey. They could totally eradicate over a quarter of societies genetic traits by killing off the carriers and blaming it on a terrible plague by modifying the disease to attack only recessive genes and weakened immune systems.” 

“Heck man,” Rhodey breathed. 

“I know, but-”” Tony sighed. 

“Alright listen,” Rhodey instructed, grabbing him by the shoulder. “This is all still just another crazy theory of yours. We don’t know for certain that Ross is actually part of Hydra and we can’t say for sure that Oscorp has anything to do with Ten Rings. For all we know, Ross is a complete idiot that bit into more than he could chew and Richard and Osborn are just back at doing stupid dangerous stuff that could potentially kill off manking. Nothing new. You could just be looking into things again. For all we know, everyone’s just doing their own thing. Remember Tony… these guys don’t think like you. Don’t give them so much credit when it isn’t due. I’d be surprised if Ross was capable of keeping his trap shut about all this Hydra nonsense if he actually had something to do with it.” 

“Yeah, I guess you’re right,” Tony nodded in agreement. “But-But I think it’d still be good to be prepared just in case. Which means we need to find out how far Ross’ loyalty goes… and I need to get my hands on Richard Parker.” 

“How do you propose we do that?” 

“Romanoff’s already hunting Parker, and I already have a plan in the making for Ross… We need someone on the inside to plant bugs, listen in, get close to him.” 

“Tones, all our men are wanted criminals. I don’t think they’ll invite a convict into the White House.” Rhodey sighed when he saw the wide smirk spread across his best friends face. He knew that smirk far too well. 

“I was thinking of offering Steve’s buddy, Lieutenant Barnes, a little promotion.” 

*** 

Two days later Tony goes down to the gym to check up on Harley and Happy while Rhodey helped Natasha gather a small group of men to run some various important ‘errands’. He’d be joining them as soon as they were ready, which could be hours from now, knowing Rhodey. It had been two days since he had talked with Rhodey and after that… the man finally understood everything Tony's been doing. He apologized profusely for assuming he was an oblivious, careless prick with no self-preservation skills… which wasn’t completely inaccurate. They spent the next couple days formulating a semi-decent plan and for the first time in months Tony could finally breathe again. He didn’t feel that constant pool of anxiety in his stomach, or that trembling anger pressing uncomfortable against his chest, which meant it was safe to see Harley again. 

“Hogan. Keener,” He called out into the gym when he opened the door. He smiled in amusement when he was met with the sight of the two circling each other in the boxing arena without any protective equipment besides a few bandages wrapped around Harley’s knuckles. The kid barely stood to Happy’s shoulder and his scrawny body made the match look so unfair. 

His voice broke Harley’s attention and he turned away from Happy just for a moment to snap his wide-eyed gaze to the man by the door. Which gave Happy the opportunity to grab his wrist to twist his boney arm behind his back. He cupped a hand around the back of his neck, grating his finger into a pressure point so the boy had to hunch over uncomfortably at the waist. He whined and cursed in complaint. 

“Never take your eye off your opponent,” Happy sighed exasperatedly. “We’ve been over this kid. This was rule number 1.” 

“Yeah, but-” Harley grunted as he fought to escape the man’s strong hold, “but- like… the Boss is here.” 

“Well, what if Boss is there while you’re fighting off some assholes in the street. Ya gonna let ‘em stab ya in the gut just cuz the Boss is there.” Happy patronized the boy as he continued to struggle 

“I wouldn’t have to cuz Tony would just shoot ‘em for me.” Harley retorted, throwing his arms around in an attempt to land a hit on the man holding him down. 

Tony chuckled in amusement, nodding his head in agreement because the kid wasn’t wrong. He shed off his suit jacket and draped it over a nearby chair. 

“Take it easy on him, Hap. It’s only his second day.” 

Happy released him, and Harley stumbled away, scowling at the man as he rubbed at his sore shoulder. Tony side-eyed him studiously as he slowly rolled up the sleeves of his crisp white dress shirt.

“How’s he been doin’ Hap? Any improvement.” 

Happy shrugged with a sigh and disappointed shake of his head. “He has no upper body strength. Very klutzy, and two left feet. Not quite the ideal street fighter if you ask me.” 

“To be fair,” Harley interjected under his breath with a grumble. “I prefer to use my hands doing something useful, like building a robot… not punching people in the face.” 

“Hm,” Tony hummed, eyeing the dejected teen, and ignoring his statement, “well that just means it's gonna be all that more impressive when he masters it. Alright,” he clapped his hands together, “my turn. Lemme have a jab at him.” 

“What?” Harley squeaked. “You-you-you’re gonna fight me.” He felt the guilt crawl up his throat when he saw the apprehensiveness in Harley’s eyes. 

“Kinda-sorta,” Tony crowed with a mask of amusement to hide his underlying worry as he stepped beneath the ropes to enter the arena. He needed the kid to trust him again. “I’ll take defensive. I want you to lay me out.” 

Harley’s eyes widen even further and Happy laughed out loud as he stepped out of the arena to spectate in one of the comfy chairs as he sipped at his water. 

Tony adjusted his sleeves one more time and smoothed a hand over his hair before he turned to face Harley. Sweat poured down the kid’s face and his cheeks were red from the strain of all the exercise. 

“Would you like some water before we start?” Tony asked with sincere concern, but Harley shook his head numbly, so Tony gestured for him to start his attack.

Harley gulped and waited a couple moments before hesitantly jumping out at the man to throw a few weak jabs. Tony easily deflected them, grabbed his left arm and spun him around with a light kick to his rear so he flew into the protective net surrounding the perimeter. 

“Don’t throw your body,” he instructed sternly, raising his hands in a defensive position, ready for the next attack. “Shoulders and waist. That’s what you use.” 

Harley nodded and recovered quickly to return to the fight. He followed Tony’s adjustments and attempted a hook, leaving his side exposed. Tony’s leg lifted swiftly, and it collided into his side with just enough force to make him stumble to the side. 

“Watch your positioning. Don’t leave yourself vulnerable.” Tony lowered his hands from their fighting stance and moved towards the kid. His brows were cast down seriously as he reached out to grasp the boy’s wrists roughly. Harley watched, a little bewildered, as the man adjusted his arms with a few quick instructions. He slapped his bicep then gripped his elbow, giving it a rough tug to make sure he understood to keep the positioning. 

“Step, jab. I block, I jab. You parry, deflect, grab, twist, and kick.” Tony walks him through the steps slowly as he verbally narrates the movements, guiding his wrists and body through every small maneuver several times. He repeats the instructions each time, talking a little quicker, and moving a little faster. 

He takes a large step forward, to make the kid step back while they repeated the movements by memory. At some point along the way, Harley began repeating the instructions under his breath along with the man. Then, all of a sudden, Tony let him go, stepped back and raised his hands again. Harley wasn’t as quick to recover. He blinked for a moment to regain his bearings, staring at the man as his brain ran through the repetitive movements over and over and over again. His breathing was heavy, and he felt a little pride begin to shine through with a smirk. He fixed his gaze back on Tony and raised his arms just as the man had instructed him. 

“Ready. Go.” And they went. Harley moved through the steps without the guiding hands of Tony, while whispering under his breath. The attacks repeated; Tony went in circles. Harley reacted without even thinking, leaving him in a state of shock every time his arm lifted without his telling it to parry a jab. Then he found an opening and landed the kick at Tony’s side to finish their little fighting skit and the man smiled proudly at him. 

“Perfect,” he praised, clapping him on the shoulder. 

Harley stares at him, stunned, and his mouth drops open in disbelief. He stares down at his own hands in amazement and an excited laugh escapes his mouth. There was no more apprehension. 

“Whoah,” he breathes, “that was awesome!” 

“You’ll get better, and it’ll get even more awesome,” Tony smiled, bending down to duck under the ropes Happy was holding up for him. He hadn’t even broken a sweat during their mini workout. 

“Keep working him Hap,” Tony instructed, “he has potential… Just a little of it.” He tilted his head at Harley teasingly, and shot him a wink as he did. “I’ll be out late tonight. Make sure to check in on Pepper and Peter before 8 and after 10.” 

“Where you goin’?” Harley questioned him curiously, jumping to attention when he realized the man was leaving. He leant over the netting to stare at him, the question pooling from his mouth before he even had time to recount what had happened the last time he had questioned the man. 

Tony hesitated and eyed him, finding relief to know the nosey kid was back. “I’m meeting up with a friend of mine. There’s a few things I need to clear up with him.” 

“Rogers?” Happy questioned offhandedly. 

“Yep,” Tony nodded. 

“Can I come with ya?” Harley asked shyly, trying to hide his nerves by biting down on the inside of his cheek. 

Tony chuckled under his breath. “You’ve got some balls kid.”

“You said he’s a friend,” the boy reasoned, “and I’m really getting sick of being cooped up in here all the time. I won’t do anything stupid; I promise.” 

“Yeah, take him,” Happy agreed, “I’m sick of ‘im. It’s your turn to babysit. You’re the one that adopted him” 

“Hey!” Harley grumbled in indignance. 

Tony pursed his lips and eyed Happy with an annoyed scowl. He didn’t appreciate the jab hiding behind the comment. Then, he turned to look at Harley. He didn’t know if it was a good idea or not. He shouldn’t be putting the kid in any danger if he brought him along, although, if he was anywhere with Tony that automatically screamed danger. 

“I don’t know, kid-” 

“Please,” Harley practically begged, “you’ll be there. I’ll be fine. You’ll just shoot ‘im if he tries to stab me or something.”

“Alright,” Tony relented, “but you stick with me. Got it?”

Harley grinned in triumph. “Yes sir!”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Does this make sense?? I'm sooo mixed up right now guys. Cuz I'm getting into the nitty gritty stuff in later chapters and I kept forgetting what Tony technically knew in this chapter. I hope it all makes a little sense and ties into hints I've dropped in previous chapters. 
> 
> Anyways! Thanks for reading! I love you all! Thank you so so much!


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is mostly Pepper-centric. It goes into a little more detail about her past and all that jazz. Cue Mama bear Pepper!

“So, I was able to sneak you some account reports Pep,” Rhodey smiled, piling the papers onto the coffee table. “You know Tony… he’s not into doing the nitty gritty stuff. I'm sure there are plenty of missing payments for you to sift through and mull over.”

Pepper just smiled and rolled her eyes. She braced a hand on her stomach as she leaned forward on the couch to grab a small handful of the papers. “Tony doesn’t know about it, right?”

“Course not,” Rhodey scoffed. “You think I’m an amateur at this? Tones would have an aneurism if he knew I was giving you anything remotely related to work.”

Pepper nodded in agreement.

She had called Rhodey that morning, completely bored, and completely fed up with Tony’s ridiculous rule of ‘no work’. She _liked_ work. It was one of the few things that kept her sane, but apparently Tony felt differently. She’d gone nearly an entire month and Bruce still had her waiting around doing nothing all day, every day, in this stupid penthouse. Nobody but the elite of the elite were allowed to visit her either and it pissed her off… she _liked_ talking to people. It was part of her job. It was what she _did_. She swears it’s all a matter of Tony’s paranoia, and she was sick and tired of playing by his ridiculous rules. So, being the amazing wife she was, she appealed to Rhodey’s gullible side instead of starting another pointless argument with her husband. Win-win.

“But seriously…” Rhodey trailed off, eyeing her, “don’t get overwhelmed or anything. Bruce was right when he said you need to take it easy till the baby comes.”

“I’ll be fine Jimmy,” Pepper sighed, “it’s not like I’m going out to assassinate Norman Osborn with Natasha or sparring with Happy. This is simple, boring, and completely dull accounting paperwork. It’s less stressful than watching the news.”

Rhodey raised his eyebrows in surprise. “Tones lets you watch the news?” ... _and was that panic??_

Pepper sighs in exasperation at the mention of her husband’s ridiculous overprotectiveness. “No. JARVIS blocked all the news channels except for those spiffy stations reporting on changes to local store infestations… when this kid is out of me, I swear I'm going to strangle that man.”

“Oh… good. Okay.” Rhodey nodded. Pepper eyed him from the side and narrowed her eyes at him.

“Why? Is something serious going on that I should know about?” Pepper questioned sternly.

Rhodey stayed abnormally silent.

“Rhodey.” She spoke threateningly, fixing him with a harsh glare.

"Gosh," he laughed nervously, swiping his hand across the back of his neck, "you Starks and your death glares. Can't imagine what Morgan's gonna be like, glaring at me when I won’t give her more candy at three years old..."

He was skittish. Something was definitely up and Pepper narrowed her eyes at him.

He broke.

“Pepper I can’t. Tony’s threatened to castrate me like three different times if I even breathe a word of it to you.” If he was being honest, Rhodey didn’t really feel all that bad keeping it from her, because there was no doubt in his mind that it would just stress her the heck out. She already knew about Peter and Richard Parker, and that was more than enough to give her hormones to worry about.

“Rhodey I swear,” she threatened harshly. “I’m in charge too. If I tell you to share important information with me, then you best well do it.”

Rhodey swallowed thickly. Pepper _never_ pulled the ‘rank’ card. Tony did… a lot; but Pepper never did.

“I can’t if Tony says I can’t… and I agree with him on this one Pep. I don’t think it’d be a good idea for you to know… ‘cause next thing we know you’re marching out of here to go fix the problem yourself.”

“Fine,” she huffed, “If I can’t pull it out of you, I’ll just manipulate Happy into spilling his secrets. That man is so easy to bribe, it’s scary.” Pepper smiled sweetly at him, and Rhodey frowned.

“Happy isn’t informed on the whole extent of the situation.”

Pepper’s head snapped over to look at him in surprise and she blinked innocently at Rhodey. Tony told Happy _everything_ whether the man himself wanted to know or not. Literally _everything_. Which included but was not limited to cars, food, machines, guns, boxing, football, soccer, and a million and one unusual ways to kill a man. Happy probably knew more about her own husband than she did.

“So, it must be something pretty big if not even Happy knows about it yet. And what about this whole Richard thing? Tony’s been obsessed with that lately.”

Rhodey grit his teeth in annoyance. “That’s not- I didn’t.”

Pepper laughed, but her gut twisted nervously. She did _not_ like being left in the dark. “It’s okay Rhodey. If you agree with Tony, it’s probably a good idea that I don’t know. We don’t want to risk me having another miscarriage… not when Tony's already so attached... I’ll just come in and fix the problem when I push this little angel out of me.” She smiled as she rubbed a hand down her stomach.

“Lady Stark,” JARVIS interrupted politely, “Mr. Hogan is calling you.”

Pepper gestured in the vague direction of the corner table at the end of the couch where her phone was, and Rhodey wordlessly reached over to grab the phone for her.

“I’ll be going Pepper. I have to meet up with Tones and Romanoff.” Pepper waves at him and accepts Happy’s call.

“Hi Happy,” she answered politely, sifting through the accounts papers Rhodes had dropped by for her.

“Pepper,” he answered monotonously, accompanied by an excited giggle that most definitely did not belong to him. “The kid wants to come and see you… he won’t shut up and I have work to do.”

Pepper smiled brightly. “Aww, bring him up then Happy. I’d love to see him.”

She grinned as she reminisced on the fun she had had with Peter two days ago after Tony had left on his little rampage. After Peter had finished crying and took a short nap, they read books and watched Disney movies. The kid was a definite snuggler and he loved kisses even more than Tony did.

While they had sat, cuddled on the couch during the movies he’d wiggle around so he could stand on his knees, tilting his head towards her expectantly with his little chin tucked out and his big eyes looking up at her beneath his eyelashes, urging her to give him a kiss on the forehead. Then, after she smiled and pressed her lips to his head he'd grin, drop like a limp noodle, and drape himself across her stomach before repeating the process 15 minutes later. She loved the bright smile that would flash across his face every time she’d give him a kiss. He was very affectionate and seemed to have a bit of a separation issue, and that’s how she had found herself toting around a four-year-old toddler on her hip as she moved about her home. It was hard… and Tony would have a heart attack at the notion of her lugging around anything heavier than a coffee pot. She still adored him though. He was the sweetest child she had ever met, and it made her even more excited to be a mother.

It made her angry when she thought back on all that she had been told about Richard Parker and how Peter had been treated. Even despite all the abuse and lack of attention, Peter was still sweet, loving, and adored any affection that was offered. It made her want to hunt down Richard Parker herself so she could tear him limb from limb, but she knew Tony needed to do it himself. That was what he did. Pepper would provide Peter with comfort, and Tony would provide him with closure.

She heard the elevator ding, announcing their arrival, and an excited shout quickly followed it.

“PepPep!” Peter shouted, barreling towards her with his arms outstretched, ready for a hug.

“Peter!” Pepper smiled, holding out her own arms to catch him.

Peter hugged her tightly, smushing his face into her collarbone before pulling away hurriedly so he could clamber onto the couch beside her. He struggled just a bit, but he smiled widely the entire time and he settled beside her, reaching forward to place his hands gently on her stomach. He leaned forward and rested his cheek right above her belly button, wrapping his arms around the bump and pressing a tiny kiss to it against her shirt.

“Hi Morgi.” He greeted happily. Then he pulled away and reached his arms out for Pepper again. Pepper gladly scooped him into her arms, cradling him like a baby against her chest.

“Hi Baby,” she cooed, “I’ve missed you so much.” And she promptly pressed a loving kiss to his forehead. Peter giggled and raised his arms to wrap them around her neck to reciprocate.

“You’re so sweet,” Pepper praised, smiling down at him as she rocked him in her arms. Peter ate up all the affection, because he surely didn’t receive any of it from Happy. The extent of Happy’s tolerance ended at picking him up, and Pepper didn’t really expect any more from the man.

“No wonder he likes you so much. You baby him,” Happy chuckled, approaching the pair on the couch. He took a seat in the armchair adjacent to them and smiled at her.

“It’s nice to be babied sometimes, isn’t it Peter?” Pepper smiled, turning to look down at the small boy.

Peter nodded against her, his eyes slipping shut as he snuggled against her chest.

“So, I guess I’ll just leave him here with you then. I’ve got some work I need to take care of.” Happy made a move to get up, but Pepper held out a hand to stop him.

She was a poor, bored pregnant woman stuck on bed rest, which meant she couldn’t get up, leave, and interact with other human beings besides the ones that would come up and visit her occasionally. Happy was one of those people… of course, she was also bored and dying for any tiny lick of information, but Happy didn’t need to know that.

“What work do you have to get done?” Happy settled back against the chair and started on a tangent. He complained about all the incompetent recruits Tony was making him train up.

“I swear to you Pepper; half these guys would be killed in a knife fight. They know nothing. They barely know how to shoot a gun. All of ‘em are a million times worse than what Allen had been when Tony first dragged him in.”

Pepper just hummed and nodded along, continuing her rocking for Peter.

“Then, there’s that Keener kid. Gosh, that kid can’t fight to save his life. I caught him disassembling the toaster this morning actually… he’s such a handful. Just like Tony.”

"Harley!" Peter mumbled, followed by happy snuffles.

That one caught Pepper’s attention. “Tony’s making you teach the kid to fight?”

“Yeah. For self-defense. He said he didn’t want the kid leaving the Tower unless he knew how to protect himself… He set some boundaries for the lessons of course.” Happy amended. He didn’t want to risk getting his boss in trouble with the missus. "He gets his own private lessons, separate from the other guys."

“Y’know,” Pepper mused, “I still haven’t met Harley. Why don’t you bring him up and then you can go get your work done?”

“Uhh, sure.”

“Where is he right now? I know he’s not with Tony or Rhodey and I know he’s supposed to be chaperoned.”

Happy glanced at her sheepishly. “He’s waiting for me downstairs in the lounge. Don’t worry, I told him to stay put, and I told Allen to keep an eye on him.”

Pepper rolled her eyes exasperatedly at him. “JARVIS, tell Harley to get in the elevator, and bring him up here.”

She felt Peter stir a little bit and tuck his head further into her arm. She smiled down at him and reached up the arm not cradling his head to comb through his soft curls. Happy watched them.

“Y’know,” Happy mused in a whisper, “he hasn’t asked for his Mom once since he came to see you. Now he just asks for you.”

* * *

"Mr. Keener," JARVIS spoke from the ceiling, startling everyone in the room, because JARVIS never spoke to anyone other than the Boss and the higher-ups... and Allen on special occasions; definitely not to a scrawny little kid recently picked up from Oscorp. "Lady Stark would like you to come up to the penthouse. Mr. Hogan has given you permission as well."

Harleys eyes widened. "Uhh. As in Pepper Stark?!" The fear that danced around his eyes after his outburst was obvious.

The older recruits around him chuckled under their breath, nudging each other, and whispering like little schoolgirls. Allen was the one that finally nudged him in the side, urging him to stand from the sofa they were all lounging on.

"What?" Allen teased with a grin, "you scared of her?"

"Well duh!" Harley practically shouted. "I've heard horror stories about her! She like- she like… she's as bad as the Boss!"

"Well, yeah," Allen mused softly, "that woman can be quite vicious. Just don’t do anything stupid and you'll be fine. Now run along Sprout," he laughed, waving him towards the elevator across the room. "You don't wanna keep the Queen of the world waiting."

Harley rolled his eyes in annoyance and stormed towards the elevator. “Don’t call me that!”

“Stop messing around with potatoes and I’ll stop calling you that!” The young man retorted. Harley just walked faster.

He could still hear the other young men around the lounge howling with laughter... it really wasn't that funny… Pepper Stark may not have been a cold-blooded killer like her husband, but she was a force to be reckoned with, and he’s heard the stories… she always got what she wanted, no matter what it was.

Rumor had it that before she had met Stark, she was a professional grifter. She stole money from every rich man across the planet... They had all fallen in love with a mysterious, tall, beautiful woman before promptly going bankrupt. Harley remembered his mother telling the story to him before he went to bed at night when he was younger, because, really, the life and the meeting of the two Starks was so similar to a twisted, criminal-esque fairytale.

Pepper Potts was the best at what she did. And so was Anthony Edward Stark. They were quite the pair.

Of course, quitting after stealing millions of dollars was not an option. The thrill is what had drove her to do what she did, or so his mother had told him in an exaggerated whisper. So, when the dull and stereotypical businessmen came and went with less effort than fishing, she decided that a little more of a challenge would do her good. Her searching bought her to New York, right to Tony Stark because he was exactly what she was looking for… and yadda yadda yadda, the rest was history. They fell in love, got married and now apparently expecting a baby. Harley was saying 'eww' as a child before his mother ever had the chance to elaborate on the cheesy love story that had blossomed between the two notorious criminals… he wasn't as invested in the romance portion of the story as he was the amazing tales of Pepper Potts and Tony Stark and the way people swear they will change the world.

They were quite the pair…

Harley rode the entire ride to the penthouse in silence, quietly recapping the entire life history of Pepper Potts in his head, or at least the exaggerated tales his mother had fed to him as a child to bribe him into a night of sleep.

Then… - oh god - then the doors were opening, and he felt his stomach jump into his throat. He didn't know why he was more anxious to meet Pepper Stark than he had been to meet Tony Stark himself, but... - wow - she really was gorgeous.

Happy was there sitting in an armchair adjacent to the couch. He slowly entered the room, staring at her with his mouth hanging open, which, yes, he _did_ know that was impolite.

"Harley," she greeted warmly with a smile. "It's so nice to finally meet you."

Harley gave a halfhearted wave, his mouth turning down into an awkward grimace because he wasn't too sure what to do with his face. Then he saw Peter cradled in her arms, looking like a tiny baby as Pepper rocked him slowly back and forth. He swore he heard little snores and he felt his nerves fall away. He felt warm and happy to know Peter was finally getting the love and attention he deserved. Yet a tiny seedling of envy sprouted in his stomach and at that moment he wished he was a small baby too so he might be able to get a hug like that.

"Why don't you come sit?" Pepper invited, patting the spot next to her.

Harley didn't make a move to sit. Instead, he glanced at it suspiciously and turned to look at Happy for instruction even though technically Pepper was the boss in this situation.

The man simply nodded in the direction of Pepper and Harley inched forward to drop down on the couch a good few feet away from Pepper and Peter. It was quiet for another couple moments as Pepper simply looked at him.

"Why don't you go get your work done Happy? I'll keep the boys company while you're busy."

Harley's eyes widened in panic and his head snapped to the side to look at Happy. _Why did Pepper Stark want Happy to leave? Why was she looking at him like that? Why was she lowkey kicking his chaperone out? Did she want to murder him?_

Happy’s brows furrowed contemplatively. “Uhh, I don’t know how Boss will feel about that Pepper.”

Pepper waves it off with a small huff. “We’ll be fine Happy. I just want to get to know the child my husband’s been raving about. I’ll send him down to you or Allen as soon as I’m done with him, okay?”

Happy relented and slowly stood from the armchair, fixing Harley with a stern look.

“Be good. Don’t cause any trouble,” he said, pointing an accusatory finger at him. Harley’s nose scrunched up teasingly and he grinned just to see what Happy would do… nothing apparently. He just turned around and left. That was it.

“So, Harley,” Pepper spoke up in a hushed whisper. Harley whipped his head around to look at her, narrowing his eyes suspiciously at her lowered tone. Pepper just laughed and nodded down to a sleeping Peter in her arms. “It’s about his nap time, and I don’t want to wake him up.”

“He-he has a nap time?” Harley questioned with a raised eyebrow… Happy had never put Peter down for a nap before. Neither had he when they were with Richard.

“Yes, all children need a couple extra hours of sleep during the day, or else they get kinda cranky… I’m assuming Happy doesn’t put him down very often.”

Harley shakes his head numbly, staring at her blankly, because he just couldn’t seem to process what a wonderful person she was. How was it possible for both Tony Stark _and_ Pepper Stark to be nice? That’s just crazy. “Um-um sometimes he sleeps with Rhodey though while he’s doing work in the office.”

Pepper raises her brows. “Oh really?”

“Yeah. Happy’s always movin’ around too much for Pete to sleep I guess. All Rhodey does is sit at his desk and do paper stuff when he watches Peter. So, Peter just goes to sleep on his shoulder,” Harley smiles a bit, “Rhodey gets kinda peeved ‘bout it sometimes though because he drools. Happy thinks it’s so funny so he makes Rhodey keep ‘im ‘til he wakes up, because if Pete wakes up then he’s super cranky… like you said.”

Pepper nods. “Is that why he had his little fit two days ago?”

“Yeah, probably.” Harley mused. “We were hanging with Rhodey and then Happy and Rhodey started arguing and it woke Peter up… he just started screaming.”

“Well, that’s what happens,” Pepper sighed, turning her attention back towards the tiny boy. She pressed a quick kiss to his forehead and smiled when she saw the corners of his lips curve up into a sleepy smile.

Harley did his best to refrain from saying anything. He didn’t want to risk getting on Pepper Stark’s bad side, so he just stayed silent until she addressed him again.

“Y’know… Tony talks about you quite a bit.” Pepper stated randomly.

“Re-really? He doesn’t, like, hate me or anything?”

“Of course not. Why would you think that?” Pepper amended quickly.

“Well, I don’t know, I kinda pissed him off the other day.” Harley recounted that particular interaction he had with the man… he hadn’t really seen him since.

“He’s just been a little stressed lately. He has a lot on his plate.”

“Yeah,” Harley chuckled humorlessly, hanging his head to stare at his lap, “I know. He’s got a ton of stuff to deal with.”

That spiked Pepper’s attention. “So Tony tells you all that’s going on? He must trust you quite a bit.”

Harley laughed. “What? No. It’s not Tony- I mean… Boss, sorry-”

“You can call him Tony, Harley. Just not around any of the other guys, they might get a bit jealous.” Pepper teased with a small smirk.

“Why would they be jealous?” Harley playfully rolled his eyes.

“Because you’re one of Tony’s favorites.” Pepper smiled knowingly. “Calling Tony ‘Tony’ is quite an honor around here, y’know.”

“I’m one of Tony’s favorites?” Harley gaped.

“He has a soft spot for kids,” Pepper answered.

“I knew it! I knew he liked me!” Harley shouted in celebration. Pepper quickly shushed him when Peter started to stir.

“Ooh, sorry,” he apologized sheepishly.

“It’s okay Honey,” Pepper smiled. There was another couple beats of silence before she spoke again, with another question.

“Are you enjoying your stay here so far?”

Harley shrugged, picking at a scab near his thumb that would surely be bleeding profusely by the time this discussion was over. “Yeah, I guess… it kinda sucks not being able to leave, but I get it. It’s kinda nice not having to worry about getting jumped or shot or something. There’s just not much to do here, especially not when Happy’s always watching me like a hawk.”

“Aww yes,” she smiled, “I heard he interrupted your adventures with the toaster this morning.”

Harley blushed and turned away from her so she wouldn’t see his heated cheeks.

Pepper smiled. “How about I give you a top-secret mission to practice with? You think that could keep you occupied for a while?”

Harley’s head snapped up and he turned to look at her in excitement. “Really? You’d do that?”

“Of course. But here’s the deal…” she leaned closer for emphasis. “You can’t tell _anybody_ about it. Not even Tony.”

“What? Why? Would it be something he wouldn’t like? Would it get me in trouble? I-I-I can’t make him mad again, I kinda like having a place to sleep y’know.” He sounded a bit defensive, but Pepper quickly reached over and grabbed his hand to calm him down.

“Of course not Sweetie. And if he gives you any trouble if he finds out then I’ll give him hell. Okay?”

Harley just looked at her skeptically, so she continued. “It’s just practice.”

“What do I need to do?”

“Well, first you have to pretend that you’re an inside man,” she smiled, nodding her head playfully with a teasing smirk, “you’re here to get information from Tony Stark himself and report to your Boss… me.”

“Sounds easy enough,” Harley shrugged. “But why isn’t Tony allowed to know?”

“That’s the whole fun of it,” Pepper grinned. “If he knows what you’re trying to do, then he’ll make it harder. But if you just go out of your way to get on his good side and get him to tell you things… that right there is how you con someone into getting what you want. Tony said you want to be a con man,” she smiled at the thought, “so now’s a good time to start practicing. And it won’t hurt anything because you’ll only be telling me. You just can’t go telling others about what you know, but you’re smart, so I’ll trust that you won’t do that.”

Harley nodded along and furrowed his brows in thought. “How am I supposed to get back up here to talk to you without him knowing though?”

“Well, that’s something you’re just gonna have to figure out yourself.” Pepper smiled.

* * *

“Hey, Pep,” Tony sighed, shedding his jacket as he walked into the penthouse. His eyes flickered to the TV, playing Aladdin, and the corners of his mouth rose in amusement. Pepper turned her head to smile at him and he rounded the couch to plop down next to her. He tucked his foot beneath his other leg and threw his arm over the back of the couch, around her shoulders, and he drew her closer, pressing a kiss to the side of her head.

“Was Little Miss wanting to watch Aladdin?” His hand slinked up to caress her stomach and he pressed another kiss, this time right in front of her ear.

She turned her head to look at him then reached up to cup his cheek and press a hard kiss to his lips. “Not quite.” She whispered against them, just in time for Tony to hear a high-pitched squeal.

“Tony!” His head snapped to the side. He saw the boy barreling towards him and before he had time to react, the kid had slammed into his legs, hugging them tightly.

“Uhh, hey. What’s up Bug?” he greeted in confusion. He reached out to pat his head awkwardly and he felt Pepper laughing beside him.

Peter finally released his legs and scrambled to get up on the couch. Tony assisted him in his struggles and by the time he was properly sitting up on his knees, facing them, he was beaming. His knees pressed into Tony’s thighs, but he ignored it because at least the kid was smiling now.

“Tell Tony what we did today Baby,” Pepper suggested with a warm smile. She rested her head on Tony’s shoulder and pressed closer into his side while she watched Peter animatedly recap every small thing they had done together that day.

“We-we draw! We-we pway wit’ bwocks,” he pointed to the mess of toys in front of the TV. “We wat’h TB! And-and we eat _sooo_ mu’h food! Apples, Nanas, B’ueBewies, uhh… Eggs! Uhh… oh-oh and cookies too!”

Tony nodded along with him. It was nice to see him in such a good mood as an alternative to screaming his head off. “So, I take it you had a good day, then?”

Peter grinned and collapsed onto him, spreading out his limbs so he was sprawled across his lap, hissing like a snake in response. “Yesssss.”

He rolled over so he was on his back. His head had landed near Pepper and he looked up at her, grinning toothily as he reached his arms out for her.

“You want a kiss?” She cooed in a babyish voice. Tony just watched in fascination. Pepper bent down to press several kisses to the kid’s face, and the happy squeals and excited giggles that followed.

It was weird… and domestic… and just totally weird… but he liked it. It was nice to see Pepper so carefree and it was nice to see a little snippet of what was to come. He was pretty sure he’ll be able to do that with his own kid once the time comes.

“Well,” he laughed awkwardly, patting the kid on the stomach softly and turning to meet Pepper’s eyes. “I just came up to say hey and to get dressed. I’m gonna be going out to meet with Rogers tonight, so I’ll probably be a little late.”

“Okay,” Pepper smiled. She kissed him softly. “Be safe please. And I don’t want to smell any blood on those clothes or I’m sending you down to sleep on the couches in the lounge where everyone can see.”

“Yes ma’am.” Tony smiled.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I hope you guys enjoyed it!!! Also, if you have any suggestions, or if there are any specific scenes you'd like to see I'm more than willing to hear them. And I might even be able to fit them in. Filling out the in-between parts of the plot is the hardest part of writing I'm sure most of you know, so any help would definitely be appreciated. 
> 
> And for sure call me out on any continuity issues or things that don't make sense. I try my best to keep it all... good, but I screw up a lot and I'd like to know so I can fix it. So thanks!
> 
> I love you all so much!! Thank you for your support!!


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, we get a bit of backstory on Pepperony and a glimpse of bamf Tony.
> 
> Also, violence is a little heavier towards the end, so be warned. It's not super bad, but it's nothing like I've ever written before.

_“Aww, Ms. Riccio. Where do you think you’re going?”_

_At his prompting, the woman in question came to a startling halt. She smoothed out her partially unbuttoned blouse and brushed the hair out of her face before taking a slow breath and turning around with an elegant spin to flare out her skirt far enough to where she was sure he would be able to catch a glimpse of her panties._

_“Well, Mr. Stark. I was simply going to freshen up.” She glanced back at the man lounging shirtless on the rumpled bed sheets with a sultry smile. Then, she snapped her neck elegantly, and her beautiful blond hair flowed in a long arch as it fell over her shoulder. That way she was able to catch a glimpse of her jewel decorated clutch that had been tossed haphazardly on the dresser during their little… scuffle. She was so close, yet so far._

_“Hmm,” Tony hummed with a lazy smile working across his face as he slowly lifted himself from the bed, muscles taught and exposed for her to enjoy. “But I had just began to enjoy myself. Come back to bed dearie.”_

_She exaggerated a pout over her shoulder at him before turning her back to him once more to hide an annoyed scowl and a last glance towards the clutch._

_“Of course,” she purred, “what was I thinking?”_

_“You weren’t thinking my dear Bambi,” Tony spoke softly, wrapping his arms around her waist from behind and dragging her backwards. He sighed once more as they collapsed on the bed and he pinned her wrists above her head. “Y’know,” he purred, pressing lingering kisses to the column of her throat, “your name just seems too good to be true.” He paused and pressed the tip of his tongue to her throat, listening to her heavy hiss that followed. “So beautiful. Bambi Riccio. Itallian. Blonde. Leggy. Confident. Everything I love in a woman.” His breaths grew heavier. “How is that possible for you to be so perfect my dear? It almost seems like there’s a trick being played… nobody is ever this perfect.”_

_“Sometimes I wonder the same about you Anthony,” she sighs, arching up into him because she just needed to feel his skin. He was hovering, and the distance was driving her insane._

_He growled out a chuckle into her ear. “You’re the only one I will ever allow to call me that.”_

_“What an honor that is Mr. Stark. Now please stop talking.”_

_She felt another breathy chuckle tickle her jaw. “But I haven’t finished yet.” He wrapped a string of her hair around his finger. She stayed silent, but her labored breathing continues._

_“Y’know, I don’t think I have ever felt a connection like this with anybody. Almost like one of those cheesy bad boy romance novels.”_

_She hummed impatiently and barely had time to nod her head before Tony was pulling at her hair again to keep her still._

_“I was also talking with Obadiah this morning. He was telling me about all the good you’ve done with covering our tracks with Stark Industries. Developing a separate bank account for incentives. Such a genius idea my dear. I think I’ve convinced myself to go buy a fancy tower in your honor. A beautiful Tower for such a beautiful woman.” She smiled lazily below him. “And do you know what name I’m going to be putting on the side.”_

_“What?” She whispered breathily. She was so dazed and dizzy she didn’t even notice that Tony had stopped his ministrations. Instead, he leaned forward to growl against her ear, low and guttural as his whiskery beard tickled her cheek when he pressed one last kiss there._

_Then she felt the cool metal of a gun’s muzzle wedge between her ribs uncomfortably. She paused and her eyes snapped open to stare at him. His smug smile reached his eyes as he hovered over her, his teeth bared threateningly against his grinning mouth as he slowly leaned down to pepper several soft kisses against her open mouth, then moving to whisper softly into her ear._

_The word was quiet, with a hint of amusement melded together with pure unadulterated glee and triumph, but she could hear it screaming and hammering against her skull as if he had yelled it; screamed it; shouted it from the rooftops. It made her heart beat and her mind scream… because he had figured her out._

_It was over._

_He’d surely kill her._

_“Potts.”_

* * *

“What are you grinning about?” Rhodey laughed as he pulled into the deserted parking lot behind an old warehouse on the south side of Brooklyn. He casted a look towards the man lounging in the seat beside him.

“Just thinking about Pepper,” he laughed. “Sometimes I wish I never told her I figured her out so quickly. I’m still curious about what she would’ve done?”

“She woulda drained our accounts and skedaddled. That’s what she would have done.” Rhodey responded curtly, putting the car in park and leaning back in his seat to get comfortable.

“Oh please,” Tony scoffed, “she obviously would have fallen in love with me before she left. She would have come crawling back within a year, I’m sure of it.”

“You really believe that?”

Tony glared at him and Rhodey laughed.

“It took forever for you to wear her down enough to get a date-”

“Wait,” Harley interrupted from the backseat, unbuckling his seatbelt and nearly vaulting himself over the center console in his excitement. Tony almost forgot he was there with them he had been so quiet. “So, like, she didn’t fall in love with you while she was conning you like in the stories?”

“Of course-”

“Heck no!” Rhodey laughed, purposefully cutting Tony off. “It took nearly a year of grovelling on his part.”

“Oh please. She was just pissy because I caught onto her little scheme. Her pride was just hurt… she was totally into me. I woulda done her so hard that night if I didn’t break the news. She was drooling all over me; totally into it. Head thrown back and everything. Nearly begging me to shut up and fu-”

“TMI dude!” Harley cried out, grimacing exaggeratedly as he fell back into his seat. Tony cackled in amusement.

“Tell me again why you brought the runt along?” Rhodey questioned with a sigh and a roll of the eyes, leaning back into the driver’s seat while his head fell to the side to fix his boss with an irritated glare.

Tony just smirked at him, tuning out the constant movement going on in the backseat… the kid didn’t seem to want to sit still. He even caught a glance through the rear view mirror of him peering suspiciously out the back window.

“He’s real pushy SourPatch, and he won’t shut up.” He directed that last statement to the jittering kid in the backseat to goad him on, but the kid didn’t seem to hear him. Because all of a sudden there was a lanky teenage boy vaulting his upper body over the center console yet again to gaze out the front windshield.

“Is this a stakeout, Boss? Or are we just, like, sitting here waiting for some Oscorp goons to shoot? Do you actually even shoot a ton of people, or were those all lies in a story too?”

“What do you mean _too?_ ” Tony sounded offended. He adjusted himself in his seat to turn and stare at the side of the kid’s head.

“Alright, that’s enough.” Rhodey sighed in annoyance, pressing the palm of his hand to the boy’s face and giving him a good shove to send him flying back into his seat. “Control your shadow, Boss.”

Tony reached into his jacket pocket as he settled Rhodey with a glare. “What have I told you about calling me that?” He pulled out a decent sized bag of Skittles… but then the kid was talking again.

“Do you not want me to call you that? Can I call you Tony, too? Is that cool? I think that would be cool.”

“No.” Tony answered stiffly, sharing an amused look with Rhodey. Then he turned around in his seat to look at the kid. “When did you start talking so much? Shut up and eat your Skittles.” He tosses the bag of candy at the boy’s chest, and he catches them deftly, immediately tearing it open as if he hadn’t eaten in ages.

“Geez kid, calm down. It’s just candy. Did Happy not feed you dinner or somethin’?”

Harley shook his head, mouth stuffed full of sweets, grinning in pure bliss. “He sai’ af’er prac’ice.”

Tony hesitates. “We’ll grab you something from McDonalds or somethin’ on our way back then. Right Rhodes? Can’t have the kiddo going hungry.”

“Whatever,” Rhodey gumbled with a small lining of humor around his tone. He fixed his gaze back on the empty parking lot, and the car filled with an awkward silence except with the occasional soft crunches and loud smacks as Harley worked away at his candy.

“There he is,” Rhodey murmured, beginning to unbuckle his seatbelt as a black ForeRunner slowly glided into the parking lot with a soft rumble. The two headlamps overhead the entrance shine onto the tinted windshield of the car, bouncing off of the various puddles scattered around the empty lot. “Better late than never I s’pose.”

Tony chuckled under his breath and grabbed for the handle his passenger door. He used his foot to kick it the rest of the way open, leaning back in his seat to subtly check out each corner of the lot. Rhodey was already out of the car, and Tony didn’t think to pay any mind to his little tag along in the backseat as he tucked a spare knife into his jacket pocket… he had some candy to keep him occupied, so hopefully that would be enough.

He walked up to the large black SUV with Rhodes. Then, out stepped none other than Captain Steve Rogers himself. Black hooded jacket covering his button-up shirt, blue and red tie, and a dark ballcap to complete the look.

“Captain,” Tony greeted with a snarky grin. Steve nodded his head at him, his face bitten down into a disgruntled scowl as he threw the driver’s door shut behind him. “How’re the twins handling their new assignments on the squad?” Tony spoke with a devilish grin, sticking his hand out towards the man with his palm upturned expectantly.

The man grumbled under his breath as he shuffled around with his jacket. He pulled out a folded manilla envelope and slapped it into the smirking man’s hands with a scowl. “They’re doing fine. Kinda whiney and obnoxious though.”

“Oh please,” Tony scoffed, snatching the packet and stuffing it into his own jacket pocket. “Those Maximoff twins are my best rats. They’ll make you some fine dirty cops… just don’t start asking too many questions. They know what they’re doing.”

Steve rolled his eyes and shoved his hands in his pockets. Then there was the distinct sound of a car door slamming. All three men jumped to attention, whipping out their weapons with practiced ease, fingers resting itchily on the trigger. Rogers slowly pulled up his jacket hood as he trained the muzzle of his gun on the intruder. Tony’s mouth turned down into an irritated scowl as he fixed his gun in the direction of his black Audi… and there stood Harley with his hands raised.

“Don’t shoot! It’s me.”

Tony and Rhodey lowered their guns and Tony rolled his eyes, nodding for him to approach.

“Geez, kid. It’s no mystery how we kidnapped you so easy.” That seemed to be invitation enough for the kid to gain some confidence and walk up to the group with a slight swagger to his step. Tony could practically feel Rhodey’s irritation radiating off of him in waves… in all honesty, Tony found it funny more than anything. He did turn to catch Steve’s reaction though. He found his amusement slipping away, soon replaced with extreme displeasure when he found the man eyeing the boy suspiciously with his gun still raised to aim at the dead center of his forehead. Tony reached out and pushed the weapon down with a rough hand, and Steve whipped his head over to toss him an aggravated glare.

“I thought the Starks quit dealing in kids.” Steve accused, jutting an angry finger towards his chest, but refrained from actually touching him as Harley popped up at his right side.

“We don’t,” Tony answered simply, “but he got into some dangerous things with Oscorp. I either let him shadow me till he’s old enough to help, or I let him go and hope I don’t find his body rotting in an alley.”

“Well that’s morbid.” Harley piped up with a disgusted scowl. Tony gave him a side eye, looking him up and down. He ended up snorting loudly while trying not to laugh.

“When the hell did you become so mouthy?”

“He’s always been mouthy.” Rhodey answered with an irritated glare directed at the child. “He just shuts up when you’re in the room, ‘cause he’s scared of you.”

“I'm not scared of him!” Harley immediately protested, with a glare. “I just don’t wanna piss him off, ‘cause he can kill me easy.”

Tony looked affronted. “Rhodey or Happy can kill you just as easy,” he reasoned with a huffy chuckle.

Harley smirked at him and shot a side-eyed glance towards Rhodey. “Yeah, but you told ‘em they can’t, so they won’t… ‘cause they know we’re connected and that you’d totally pummel ‘em if they laid a hand on me.”

“We are not connected,” Tony scoffs indignantly, turning away from the teen.

“Sure are. Your wife told me so.”

“My wi- Pepper?? When were you talking to Pepper?”

“I can totally kill you if I really wanted to,” Rhodey grumbled under his breath, with his arms crossed defiantly over his chest. Harley just smirked a him and shrugged his shoulders with a patronizing shake of the head.

Steve cleared his throat. “Ahem. Can we please get back to business? I have to meet with the mayor tonight, and we have a lot to discuss.”

“Holy crap! You’re Steve Rogers! I didn’t know you were a dirty cop!”

Steve’s eyebrows narrow at the boy and Tony shakes his head in something similar to disappointed and frustrated disbelief.

“Oh my god. Just shut up, kid.” Rhodey growled, shooting him a scathing glare.

“Be nice, Rhodey,” Tony amended. Rhodey glared at the back of his head then turned to look at the kid who was wearing a wide, smug grin.

‘Told you so’ he mouthed. Rhodey _sooo_ wanted to strangle him.

“What do you have for me this week, Steve? I’ve been seeing myself a lot on the news lately… can’t say I hate the attention, but it’s not all that great for a man in my line of work if you catch my drift. Especially not at a time like this.” Tony ignored the two behind him and jumped straight back into what they met up for.

“You and I both know that’s beyond my control, Stark. With the way you act sometimes, can you really blame people for thinking your leading Hydra… I mean… c’mon you gotta admit it makes sense,” Tony rolled his eyes and scoffed at him. “Just do me a favor and refrain from maiming anyone these next few weeks. There’s only so much attention I can draw away from you while Ross is breathing down my neck to find you. Heck, he’s got Hammer testifying against you, claiming the weapons you had sold to the government over the years had been a cover for the bombs you planted for all the terrorist attacks over the years. They’re accusing you of some pretty heavy stuff Stark.”

“Nothing they have against me will hold up in court. He knows that. And, y’know, it turns out I got a lot of innocent cheerleaders on the sideline. Believe it or not, there are normal people on my side. You do realize what kind of uproar there will be if he tries acting on that execution thing he’s so set on, right?

Steve sighed. “All I know is he put out a kill order for you. I don’t even think he’s wanting a trial. He’s just spewing out lies to make people feel less upset when they found out an officer finally put a bullet between your eyes.”

Tony waves it off as if Steve hadn’t just told him every right-minded patriot in the country was out for his head. “Your men know better than to shoot at me, correct? I really, really don’t enjoy gunfights with the cops as much as I used to in my younger years. They’re always such a pain to cover up.”

“Yes, but Stark, we can only do so much before the FBI steps in… Maybe you could just lay low for a while. Or maybe take the bodies upstate instead of leaving them around mangled and bloody for the citizens to find. It looks bad on us with so many open cases and no leads.”

“What?” Tony scoffed, “so you want me to stop punishing the child molesters and wife-beaters and let ‘em run rampant?”

“Yes, including any Oscorp or Hydra goons if you can help it. Just stick to the drug deals for a while maybe?”

Tony stared at him blankly.

“I think you’ve got it backwards Rogers. I’m the one who makes the rules here; this isn’t like your precious little police station. I’m the boss, not you. I do what I want, and you and everyone else listens to me. People need to know that there are consequences for their actions, and tossing them in a protective box with three square meals a day and everything they could possibly need is not a fitting punishment. Especially when the victims of their crimes are the ones are forced to give their hard earned money to make sure these bastards keep living when all they deserve is a bullet between the eyes.”

“Some people don’t deserve death, Stark.”

“Yes, but most do. The government and your stupid rules are corrupt and unjust. The law tends to leave the important parts of protecting and maintaining a safe and healthy society. You’re too scared to do what needs to be done to make sure innocent people don’t suffer. There are too many conflicts, too many viewpoints that matter. There’s only one that’s right, and if people would just listen and go along without putting up a fight, so much more could get done. Look me in the face Rogers and tell me that the reason you agreed to help me isn’t because you agree with my ideals and the way I run things.”

The Captain stared at him and didn’t say a word.

“That’s what I thought. I’ll continue to do what I want to do. I’ll continue running your city and keep things the way they should. You just need to do your job and direct the Feds to turn their head the other way.”

“I can’t protect you that way,” Steve warned.

“I’m a big boy Rogers. I can protect myself,” he paused and dug around in his pocket. “Oh, and here.” He handed over a gold USB drive. “Those are a few Oscorp leaks. I had JARVIS look into them and there should be enough to put each of them away for a long time. At least 50. Just make sure you lock them up. Maximum security.”

“How-how-when-” The man stuttered as he grabbed onto the drive eagerly.

“Oscorp’s been pissing me off lately. I’m done playing nice with them.”

“Why are you giving this to me? You usually take care of anything involving Oscorp, and Shield yourself.”

“Oh, I'll take care of them eventually. I just need to make a bit of a distraction for them; they’re working on something big and I need to get a handle on it before it gets too far. Romanoff and a few others are actually scoping the place out as we speak. Plus, I just wanna kick Osborn down a peg or two… he’s gettin’ too cocky. I need to remind him of whose in charge.”

Steve and Tony go back and forth for a few more minutes, exchanging important information about Hydra and Oscorp. Rhodey stood at Tony’s left side stiffly, and Harley kept silent as he absorbed the information. It was the first time he got any worthwhile information about Stark’s organization and how things were ran beneath the surface… the man was so… so careful, and he knew exactly what he was doing. It was really quite interesting how he was able to finagle things in such a way to get exactly what he wanted. Two minutes into the discussion and Harley had plenty of information about Hydra and Oscorp, and the rivalry that’s quickly developing to run back to Pepper which she’d no doubt praise him for. Now, the only thing was finding a way to talk to her again without alerting Tony or Happy… Then he thought about Oscorp and what they would do if he came back to pour all of Stark’s secrets that he’s learned right in their laps... and they’d no doubt praise him too. They might even let him go out on his own… give him more responsibility. Then he thought about Peter and the way his own father treated him versus how Tony and Pepper treated him. The way he adored Pepper and constantly asked about Tony, and how very seldom it used to be for Peter to ever ask for Richard. He thought about how he himself had been treated, how dismissive and abusive Oscorp had been towards him. How different Stark was, despite being known as a deadly man when crossed. Stark and his men were a real family, they laughed and joked and played games… of course they teased Harley to no end too, but at least he didn’t get tossed scraps for dinner, or get beat consistently every week.

Oscorp had killed his family… took away his entire life, and Tony gave him a new one. So he made up his mind right there and then to stick to Tony’s side. He’d do what Pepper asked, and he’d prove to everyone that he was good enough to work side by side with the great Tony Stark. Then Tony would have no choice but to recruit him when he was old enough, and he’d never have to leave.

Before he knew it. Tony was spouting off a months worth of instructions to Steve. Varying between assignments for the twins, planned raids on Oscorp facilities to ignore, and how to deal with Ross and the FBI.

“One more thing,” Steve said, holding up a finger and moving to open up the backdoor of his car. He tugged out a thrashing, dark-skinned man by the collar and let him drop to the asphalt, right next to the spare tire. His hands were tied uncomfortably behind his back and he visibly winced when he landed on top of them.

“This was an old CI of mine I used to grab intel on Oscorp and other small gangs that I fed off to you… then he tried to be smart and almost got me and Bucky killed on an unrelated undercover op.”

“That’s ‘cause I found out you were working with that bastard Stark!” The man spat, shooting a pointed glare at the sharply-dressed man standing over him. He made no effort to stand.

Steve ignored the outburst. “I’m sure he still has a lot more to tell, so I thought I might hand him off to you to get more out of him before he goes and outs me and Buck.”

“You’d deserve it you conniving bastard!” The man growled, writhing around against his restraints to spit on the man’s shoes.

“Alright, that’s enough,” Rhodey chimed in with a roll of his eyes. He slowly made his way over, dragging his hands out of his pockets to grasp the front of the man’s jacket and tug him up to his feet roughly.

Tony paid him no mind as Rhodey fought against the struggling man. He looked back over to Steve, discreetly putting an arm out in front of the kid beside him to push him away from the small, controlled scuffle.

“What’s his name? Affiliation?”

“Sam Wilson,” Steve answered blankly. “Washed up Military officer after a severe injury. Doesn’t really know how to mind his own business. Got caught up with drugs and alcohol. No family, no home. His friends call him Free Willy.” Steve chuckled under his breath.

Tony nodded and smiled slightly. Then he turned back to Steve with light in his eyes, as if he had just remembered something. “Barnes will be getting an offer for a large promotion by the way. Tell him to take it and to report back to me with whatever information he finds.”

“What’s the offer?” Steve questions.

“You’ll find out soon enough. Just remember that it’s rude to say no to the President of the United States.” Tony winked at him. “Keep in touch.” With that, Tony waved at him dismissively and turned to face the quarrelling men in hopes it would end soon so they could get back to the Tower. He’d been spending less and less time with Pepper as work became more and more demanding with all the drama. He was just itching to crawl into bed beside her and kiss her goodnight.

“Kid,” Rhodey grunted, struggling to restrain the fighting man, “stop being useless. Get over here and help me drag him to the car.”

Tony would have interjected, but the teen was already rushing past him, without any thought, straight towards the two men. He reached them and made a dive for the man’s legs to try and restrain them… not a smart kid. The larger man didn’t even hesitate to aim a hard kick right to the center of the kid’s chest, sending him skidding across the concrete, ending up sprawled out on his back with his arms cradling his sides.

“Heck man,” Harley grunted, wincing through the pain as he fought himself to stand back up, because only pussy would lay there on the ground and nurse his wounds. “Not cool dude-”

He had no more time to react further. Stark pulled him to his feet with rough hands, grabbing onto his face harshly and gliding purposeful hands along his sides. He was proud of his ability to hold back the winces and whines when he ran his belligerent hand over a particular sore spot along his ribs. His brows were creased in worry as he examined Harley from head to toe for any deadly injuries.

When he’d finished Tony didn’t look happy at all, and the sounds of the scuffling had come to a dead halt.

“You’re okay, Kid. No broken ribs ” The man stated bluntly, a sour look crossing over his face as he released Harley from his rough hold and forced him behind his body with a strong, guiding arm. Harley stumbled a bit, and by the time he regained his balance, Tony had stepped up to the now frightened man and forced him out of Rhodey’s grip with a harsh tug on the lapels of his jacket. Rhodey steps to the side and gladly lets Tony take over as he pushes the dirty, drunk man against Steve’s black SUV with his fist curled in his collar. A second after that and his suit clad knee was brought up firmly between his legs.

The man buckled at the knees, crying out in an angry squeak as Tony hurried to take advantage of the new position to tower over the taller man threateningly. The knee came up again and this time pushed into the man’s stomach, and Harley swore he heard a distinct crack. He winced uncomfortably at the sound, and he didn’t have much time to dwell on it because then Tony’s fist was lifting to pound on the man’s face with his other hand squeezing around his neck…. The man was turning blue. He tried to fight back, but it was useless, because Tony would parry each attack and come back with an even stronger blow which was followed by an even louder crack. It wasn’t very long before blood was gushing from every part of the man’s face.

By that time, Wilson’s his body was all but lifeless as he slumped forward on Tony. Stark released him and he fell to the ground like a ragdoll, moaning and groaning as blood spilled quickly and pooled around him, leaking into a patch of murky water, giving it a harsh red velvet like sheen. Blood coated Tony’s bruised knuckles, and speckles of it dotted his crisp white shirt from where it hadn’t been protected by his jacket.

He stooped down into a crouch, grabbing onto the man’s unhinged jaw in such a way it reminded Harley of their first meeting. Stark’s eyes still shown in anger, and his mouth was pulled down into a sharp scowl. Wilson’s mouth open, teeth bared and grinning with a look of unendurable agony as he choked on the blood spilling from his mouth, weak hand reaching up to grapple at Stark’s larger one in a helpless attempt to release himself from the crushing grip.

“Don’t you _ever_ touch that kid again.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this fic has been lacking a lot of Tony and Peter interactions, but I promise they are coming and they are going to melt your heart! Anybody that knows me knows that I can't go too long without some good irondad fluff so don't lose hope. But it feels kinda unnatural right now for Tony to get so attached to Peter right away, especially considering all the stress and craziness going on. So that just makes it easier to write Harley in with him cuz hes older. But, yeah... I just finished a heavy heavy irondad/bamf Tony chapter (you can probably guess what that ones about) so it's definitely coming soon. There will be major developments between their relationship over the next few chapters, so don't worry guys :)
> 
> I really appreciate everyone that has been loyally reading and commenting so thank you so much! Also, fyi, I _do_ live in central Florida *ahem*hurricane*ahem* so if I don't update for a while... I either died or my power went out. so yeah. Last times I had friends who didn't get their power back on for an entire month. Goodness, I hope that doesn't happen to me... so yeah. We'll see what this thing does, but I promise I'm continuing, so don't freak out too much if I go off the grid for a while lol.
> 
> Also, let me know if you have any suggestions or anything... I think I've said this before, but I have no idea how the whole mob thing is supposed to work. I'm literally grasping at strings here... so any corrections or help you can offer would be awesome.


	11. Chapter 11

Pepper lounged quietly on the couch, reading _another_ book. There was just nothing else to do, because Tony was always so paranoid about everything, convinced anything and anyone had the potential to stress her and the baby, quite literally, to death… so that just left her with _books_. She had spent her entire day playing with Peter and watching Disney movies, but now he was fast asleep.

It happened without warning. One moment he was his usual hyper, chattering self, and then he had curled himself against Pepper as she read him a book that he had insisted on her reading to him, and he conked out before she even made it halfway through. She’s not saying she’s happy she didn’t have to read ‘Aliens Love Underpants’ in its entirety, but she was happy Peter passed out when he did.

She gently lowered him onto the cushions of the couch, tucking a throw pillow beneath his head and pulling over the blanket balled up in the corner of the couch to drape it over him so he was snuggled in a warm cocoon. Then, she had JARVIS call Happy to come pick him up.

It was only 8:00, so it didn’t take very long for a usual grumpy Happy to stroll into the penthouse, looking just a tiny bit peevish. Pepper looked up from her book to smile at him.

“Hi, Happy,” she greeted softly. Then she nodded downwards, towards Peter curled up tightly on the couch. Her hand lowered and combed through the boy’s hair for only a moment before she braced her hands on her knees, straining to stand up. Happy immediately rushed forward to help her off the couch, but she swatted him away, insisting that she could ‘ _stand by myself Hogan, thank you very much_ ’. Instead, Happy backtracked and lowered his hand in a move to shake the sleeping child awake, but Pepper quickly swatted his hand away and scolded him.

“Don’t you dare wake him up. He’s sleeping. Just carry him down to his room and tuck him in.”

“Yes ma’am,” Happy grumbled, crouching just a little so he could gently lift the tiny child from the soft cushions of the couch. Peter mumbled sleepily against him, eyes flickering open as he blearily looked around before dropping his head heavily on Happy’s shoulder.

“‘Ony?” The kid mumbled under his breath with a questioning lilt as he snuggled closer to Happy.

“Nope,” Happy answered snappishly as he fought to pull away the blanket that had caught itself between Peter and his arm. “It’s Happy.”

Peter whined miserably against him, shuffling uncomfortably in his arms. “Nooo,” he moaned helplessly, “‘ony.”

Happy was about to retort, not at all hurt by the kid preferring his boss over him… he’s never been overly fond of kids anyways. But before he could snap, Pepper was stepping closer. Her voice was soft and calming as she reached a hand out to rub Peter’s tiny back soothingly.

“It’s okay Peter,” she cooed, “just go back to sleep. Maybe you can see Tony tomorrow if he’s not too busy.”

Peter obviously wanted to argue, because his frustrated moaning and his shifting continued.

“Fine,” he huffed. That seemed to be enough, because at that, he conked out again,. He went limp in Happy’s arms, hands that had been barely clutching the collar of his shirt dropped away, and the legs he had wrapped around the man’s waist fell to hang limply in the air. Happy grunted before adjusting him again.

He said goodnight to Pepper, and left… and Pepper found herself alone with a book once more.

* * *

Two hours later, Peter was jolting awake in his bed. His body stilled, eyes wide, and breaths wild before the remnants of a nightmare crept in the background of his mind and he released a loud, ear-piercing wail.

“MAMA!!!” He screamed, thrashing against the sheets as he sobbed. “Mama! Mama! MAMA!”

The picture of his father towering over him with a long needle in his hand was right there in the forefront of his mind, and he threw himself around the bed to try and escape the familiar face. He didn’t know how long he was crying before the door across the room was being thrown open, flooding the small space with a pale, yellowish light from the hall. It illuminated the plain blue bedspread that had been kicked onto the floor in his panic.

His screams and wails quickly dwindled into sorrowful sobs and whimpers when he spotted the large, familiar silhouette lingering in the doorway. “Mama? Mama? P’ease.”

“Peter, hey.”

Happy.

Peter felt a hand land on his hair, and he immediately pushed his head against it, revelling in the small form of comfort. “Hap-Happy,” he sobbed pitifully, eyes snapping closed once more as he hunkered down on himself. “I wan-I wan-I wan my MAMA!” A series of short hiccups followed the outburst and Peter found himself being lifted from the toddler-sized bed and tucked close to a large chest.

“It’s okay Kid,” Happy offered in a quiet whisper. Peter felt him begin to rock and bounce, but that didn’t seem to help the numb stuttering in his chest and the unexplainable need to see Pepper.

“Mama, p’ease.” Peter begged, huddling in closer to the man with his arms clutching his shirt.

“Your Mama’s not here Peter,” Happy answwered… and for the first time there was a hint of remorse in his tone as he delivered the bad news to the distressed child.

“Nooo,” he moaned, “noooo. No-no-no-no! Mama! Mama! PepPep! P’ease!”

“Oh…” Happy breathed out quietly. “Okay, yeah. Sorry Kid. I didn’t know you meant Pepper.” Peter, luckily wasn’t able to see Happy’s grimace. The man just couldn’t help but dread what kind of drama and heartbreak this was going to dredge up for the child when Tony found out… if he found out. Tony liked the kid sure… but oh goodness… he probably wouldn’t think it a good thing that Parker’s son was calling his wife ‘Mama’. So, Happy just forced himself to blame it on Peter’s apparent nightmare and left it at that.

He exited Peter’s recently decorated room and addressed JARVIS as he continued his rhythmic bouncing.

“Call Pepper please, JARVIS.”

He was glad that nobody else was up and wandering around the sleeping quarters, so he just hovered in the hall outside Peter’s room and waited for Pepper to answer, listening to Peter’s quiet murmurings of ‘Mama’ over and over.

“Happy? What’s wrong?” Pepper’s voice rang out from JARVIS speakers. “Is everyone okay? Did something happen to Tony? Is Peter alright?”

Happy faltered for a second. “Well, no- I mean… kinda… Peter seemed to have a nightmare and he was asking for you. I know it’s kinda late, but do you mind if I bring him up to see you. I think it’ll make ‘im-”

“Yes-yes of course. Bring him up.”

So, that’s what Happy did. He consoled Peter the entire journey to the penthouse, promising that he was taking him to see Pepper. It didn’t help. Peter continued to cry, blubbering on and on about the terrible things he had seen in his nightmares. Happy didn’t like what he was saying, but he understood that the situation was going to be taken care of relatively soon, so he held his tongue and continued his bouncing.

When the elevator doors opened to the penthouse, JARVIS instructed him to meet Pepper in the master bedroom where she was waiting for them. So, Happy hurried down the hall, eager to push off the distressed child onto someone that was actually capable of handling him. Consoling a child after a nightmare went far beyond his job description.

“Oh Baby,” Pepper cooed softly, mouth falling into a worried frown as she reached for the child in Happy’s arms. Happy gladly handed the child over to the woman sitting up in bed, and retreated to wait in the Living Room. “Hey, what’s wrong Baby?”

“Mama?” Peter whimpered, blinking owlishly up at her through watery eyes.

Pepper’s face falls into something between shock and wonderment and she pulls the boy closer. Peter simply curls into her, succumbing to relieved sobs and tearful chants once more. “Mama Mama Mama Mama Mama.” Pepper couldn’t find anything to say.

She understood that it was perfectly normal for Peter to look at her like that. For all she knew, she’s the first womanly influence in Peter’s life since his mother died two years ago… probably too long ago for Peter to remember anything more than the only source of love and support he’s ever had in his life. She understood. She did. She could understand why Peter might call her that in the heat of the moment like this. He had just turned four a couple months ago… he was still so young. He probably didn’t even fully understand the meaning of a mother and father.

She eventually found her tongue when Peter’s cries started to die down. “What happened Baby?” She asked softly

“M’Daddy,” Peter answered quietly, nuzzling further into her neck. “M’Daddy was there. ‘ony gave me back and m’daddy was mad a’ me. I don’ wanna ever go back p’ease. I don’ wanna go, I don’ wanna go.”

Pepper rocked him slowly. “You don’t have to go anywhere Peter,” she kissed the top of his head. “Now, tell me what your Daddy was mad at you for.”

“Cuz-cuz-cuz I like ‘ony better than him an-an-and I-I-I ‘old Tony wha’ m’daddy did.” Pepper found her heart breaking, and before she knew it, tears were pouring down her cheeks too… stupid hormones.

“What is it that your daddy did that you told Tony, Peter?” She pressed further. Peter hadn’t spoken a word about his father since that day Tony had brought him up in a similar state, screaming for his mother, with a completely different motive.

“I tol’ him he kill my Mommy. An-an I tol’ him ‘bout the needles.” Peter shuddered against her. “The needles are so scawy, PepPep.”

Pepper found herself panicking now.

“What needles Peter?”

“He-he poke’ me with needles when I was bad cuz-cuz he need-need to test his science. He say he ran out of rats and need to-to use me to test his im-im-imnity stuff… it was red and scawy. So scawy… he did lots of ‘em. He say I needed lots more shots cuz he didn’ wan’ me to die when he try da poison later… which is good I guess,” Peter sighed softly, “I like dat he didn’ wan’ me to die… I still didn’ like da needles.”

Pepper held back the panicked gasp, and it festered in her throat so much that she could hardly breathe.

“Peter,” she spoke earnestly, hugging him tight, “what poison? Did he ever give you the poison?”

Peter shook his head slowly and Pepper found herself being able to breathe again.

“Ms. Tasha too’ me to Tony ‘fore he coul’... I don’ wan’ ‘im to put poison in me PepPep. I don’ wanna go back.”

“You never have to go back Peter. I promise you. I won’t let you go back, and Tony won’t let you go back. You’re safe with us here, okay?”

She lowered them both down so they were laying properly on the bed. She hugged Peter close, tucking him nicely into her side. “Why don’t you sleep up here with me tonight so you don’t have to worry about anymore nightmares?”

Peter nodded and yawned quietly.

Pepper sighed in relief. She had made the request more for her own sanity than for Peter’s. She didn’t think she’d be able to let him out of her sigh anytime soon.

It wasn’t long before she felt Peter’s breaths even out, and she finally let herself succumb to her anger. Her face bit down into a harsh scowl and she cursed and cursed and cursed, promising to rip off Richard Parker’s head for hurting and scaring her baby.

If Tony didn’t find him and kill him soon, she’d have to go out and do it herself.

* * *

Tony ended up being the one having to drive back. Harley sat comfortably in the passenger’s seat, and Rhodey was downgraded to the backseat with the recently duck-taped Sam Wilson because they weren’t able to fit him in the trunk _(“Goddamnit Tony! I told you to clean out the trunk weeks ago!”)_ and Tony wasn’t about to let Harley sit anywhere near him. Especially not when the kid was subtly trying to ease the pain from earlier by massaging his sore side.

After a few minutes of uninterrupted silence, accompanied by the pained moans of their prisoner in the back, the kid finally spoke up and Tony had to bite back an irritated sigh.

“So… like… that was Steve Rogers… the most honorable Police Captain in the NYPD?”

“Yep.” Tony answered bluntly, keeping his eyes fixed on the dimly lit road.

“So I was right?” Harley pressed, shuffling in his seat to lean just a little bit closer as if he were going to share a secret. “He’s a dirty cop?”

“In a way,” Tony shrugged with a sigh. “He just finally realized that the people running the government are all biased, incompetent idiots and he couldn’t deny the fact that I’m one of the few people with a good head on their shoulders that can keep society under control.”

“So, like… what’s he do then? Does he feed you super secret intel to beat up people he secretly wants to beat up but can’t ‘cause he’s supposed to be pretendin’ to be a good guy? Does he, like, go into the evidence room and burn all the stuff with your blood and DNA on it so they can’t use it to throw you in prison?”

Tony raises an eyebrow and turns his head to shoot the kid a look.

“No.” He responds slowly. “He just does whatever I tell him to do.”

“Oh,” Harley hums, “cool-cool.” His voice lowers a couple octaves as he crosses his arms awkwardly over his chest and leaned back in the seat.

And just like that, the car falls back into a comfortable silence. Nobody speaks a word until they're driving down a road illuminated by the bright yellow light shining from the familiar golden arches a ways down, and then they're pulling into the McDonalds drive-in.

“Whatcha want kid?” Tony turns to look at Harley with an expectant look on his face.

Harley’s eyes are wide as he glanced between Tony and the menu as if he couldn’t quite believe it was real.

“Wait, you were serious?”

Tony scoffed, affronted that the kid would question the fact that Tony said he’d feed him. “I’m not going to let you starve. Now hurry up and pick what you want.” While Harley scanned over the menu, Tony glanced in the rearview mirror to eye Rhodey. “Want anything Rhodey?”

“Just order me a diet coke and a BigMac.” Tony nodded and risked a small glance at the other man in the backseat. He snorted in amusement at the puzzled look on his face… as if he couldn’t quite believe they were sitting in a McDonalds drive thru just after he had been beat up and kidnapped… honestly, Tony couldn’t quite believe it either.

“Can I get a McFlury?” Harley questioned confidently. Tony looked at him.

“You just had an entire pack of skittles. Don’t you think you’ve had enough sugar? It’s already past your bedtime.”

“I don’t have a bedtime,” Harley argued with a sneer. “I’m not a _baby_. Peter barely even has a bedtime.”

Tony frowns. “Well that’s about to change… now tell me what you want.”

“I told you what I wanted,” Harley retorted smugly, eyeing Tony defiantly.

“You can’t just have ice cream for dinner. You need real food… or at least as real as this craphole will serve you. Now hurry up and make a decision.”

Harley frowned and turned back to the menu. “If I order real food, can I get a McFlury too?”

Tony just grunted. “Whatever. Just tell me what you want.”

Harley grinned in triumph and spouted off his order, being sure to enunciate the words ‘ _M &M McFlury_’. Tony rolled his eyes and reached over to shove him playfully, and he turned his head to face the intercom so the kid wasn’t able to see his smirk.

They get the food. Tony hands it all over to Harley so he can sort it out, and then he's peeling away from the dingy restaurant, tires squealing as he sped away. He couldn’t get away fast enough.

"Here Rhodey," Harley announced, reaching to hand off the burger to the man in the backseat. Then he turns back around to grab the diet coke and hand that back to him as well… he does his best to ignore Sam, because he was covered in dried blood and it was kinda nasty, but he couldn't himself. The look on his face was funny, and he seemed a bit more lucid than he had been when Rhodey first dragged him into the car.

"This is yours I think Tony… I meant Boss! Sorry." Harley sheepishly hands over the small burger that he had already partially unwrapped so the man could start eating it.

"It's fine," Tony muses as he grabs the burger, ignoring the slip. It wasn’t even a big deal, he had been partially joking when he told the kid he wasn’t allowed to call him that earlier in the evening. Apparently the kid was still, justifiably, a bit terrified of him. "Don't spill anything on that seat, kid. If you make a mess, you're cleaning it up."

Harley nods mutley and starts on the nuggets he asked for. The car falls back into silence as they eat, and Tony finds himself watching the kid scarf down his food more than he finds himself watching the road. The kid east like he's starved, which he probably was before Tony found him…

It made his gut churn and his bones feel heavy. He found himself gripping the steering wheel tighter and before he knew it he was spiralling into a fervent splurge of bad thoughts he should have left behind years ago. Memories of his father, and his time at the Ten Rings riles up his anxiety, and he finds his fingers cramping from the strength of his grip. He breathes deep and slow, pushing the thoughts away and instead began digging through the small observations he had made of Harley that had at the time seemed irrelevant, or just another plain-old quirk.

The boy was quick-witted, long-winded, and apologetic. He hovered, yet steered clear of others. Heck, the kid found himself spending more time with the potatoes than anyone else that wasn't named Happy, Rhodey, or Tony. He had a tendency to ramble, backtrack, and voice unsure opinions so fervently that he began to convince himself of the opposite. His entire snarky, excitable demeanor would change at the slightest snap of the finger, and he'd find himself hunching in on himself at the slightest mistake, as if afraid he were going to be punished… in short… the kid was abused. Tony growled under his breath at the thought, because he knew - he _knew_ better than anyone.

The kid didn't have parents. For all Tony knew, this past week was the first time anyone had shown him any kindness. His father was gone, mother and sister dead for who knew he long… and the kid blamed himself.

Boy, was that a mess to clean up, or what?

Before Tony could delve into any potential solutions he was pulling into the garage beneath the famous Stark Tower. It housed Stark Industries, the mask, and main revenue for their little mob family thing they've got going. It was most definitely a prominent and ostentatious building, and he loved the irony of it. He may or may not have plastered his name across a skyscraper with the intent to rub it in Ross’ face years back when he was first elected. “ _Hey idiot! Over here! Here I am! The criminal mastermind of the century! I’ve killed hundreds of people and everyone knows it, come arrest me!_ ”... Yeah… but they didn’t have any proof to arrest him and that’s what made it so friggin fantastic.

The two usual young men guarding the elevator entrance stood, slouching and drooping, but as soon as the car drifted into the garage, their backs straightened and their eyes brightened to look alert. Harley laughed at them, glad to know he wasn’t the only one terrified of his boss.

Then, Tony threw open his door, spewing out orders towards the two men to assist Rhodey in getting a handle on the man in the backseat. Harley shuffled around distractedly trying to escape from the confines of the car quickly, because Tony was already walking away and he didn’t want to be left alone again… not after the adventurous night he’s had. Sure, being around Tony scares him a bit… but it’s a lot more scary when he’s not around. He thought back onto what Pepper had told him, how he should just try and be more comfortable. He knew Tony wasn’t going to hurt him… he knew that. He also knew him to be a drug dealer, loan shark, weapons-developer, and full time murderer...

“Lock him away. No food and no sleep, but have Dr. Banner come in and check on him to make sure he doesn’t die during the night before I get a chance to talk to him.” Tony barks out orders as he walks away, back turned towards the car and the men as he strides towards the elevator with his hands in his pockets.

“Hey, Boss!” Harley shouted hurriedly after scrambling out of the car. The man paused on his trek to the elevator turned to look at the kid over his shoulder, giving Harley just enough time to scurry up to his side.

“Whatcha want Kid?” Tony asks stiffly, shoving his hands into his pockets without breaking his stride.

“Oh-well, um… I just wanted to say thanks I guess…” Harley fibbed with his head lowered, wringing his hands together in front of him as they both step into the spacious elevator.

“For what?” Tony asked suspiciously.

“For letting me tag along, for beating that dude up when he kicked me, for not making me sit in the backseat with him, for being nice to me, for teaching me how to do-”

“Alright, that’s enough. I think I get the point.” Tony interrupts with a role of his eyes.

“Well I mean it,” Harley defends sternly. “I think you’re pretty cool. I totally forgive you for what happened days ago… it was technically my fault,” he saw Tony stiffen angrily and he immediately backtracked. “Sorry-sorry. Probably shouldn’t have brought that up… but I can kinda get why normal people respect you so much. I never really got it until I came here… but I do get it now.”

“Hmm,” Tony humms distractedly with a nod of his head, but apparently that wasn’t enough because Harley asked another question.

“Why are you so different from all the other evil dudes?”

“Different how?” He questioned, raising an eyebrow curiously.

“Well…” Harley pondered slowly, “you’re like… nice? I mean-c’mon. There was a lady months ago who got hurt during a gunfight between you and Oscorp, and, like, you paid all her medical bills! So, I mean… that was nice of you, right? Evil dudes don’t usually do that…?” He trailed off quietly when he caught Tony staring down at him.

“Are you asking me or are you telling me?” Tony scolded, narrowing his eyes.

“Uhhh,” Harley started helplessly, eyes widening in panic. The facade only lasted a couple seconds before Tony laughed and clapped him on the shoulder with a wide smile on his face.

“Just messin’ with ya kid. I know what you mean.” Tony chuckled, and Harley laughed nervously along with him. “I just kinda hate being the bad guy sometimes… Don’t go blabbing this conversation to the other soldiers though, you hear me? It’s always good for there to be a healthy amount of respect. I don’t need them thinking I’ve gone soft or somethin’.” Tony paused for a moment, contemplating if he _really_ wanted to have a discussion like this with the kid, but he supposed it would be a good teaching opportunity. He watched as the numbers displayed above the elevator doors slowly increased as he started his story.

“My Dad was a bit of a jerk… he was cruel and just- let’s just say he did some things that I don’t necessarily agree with. I kinda hated him for it as a kid, but it was just the way he was; just a typical mob boss… That’s the type of reputation he had built for the Starks, and it’s taken me years to reestablish a few good standards and it’s taken even longer for people to understand that I won’t put up with anything less. My father could have cared less about others well-being. He’d kill a man without a thought,” he hummed lightly and closed his eyes as he remembered a certain occasion. “I remember one day, I was Peter’s age, maybe a little older… a guy was dragged into my Dad’s office. He had borrowed maybe 200 bucks to repair his old deadbeat car… ‘cause, you know he had to get to work to feed his family and he’d spent his last paycheck on the house payment… I actually knew him. I knew his daughter… they were all really nice, they just never had a lot of money,” he sighed again and opened his eyes to look down at Harley. He needed to make sure the kid got the point. “He killed him. Shot him right between the eyes because he was late on his payment. So, ever since that day, I promised never to hurt someone that didn’t deserve it.” He saw Harley’s eyes widen and Tony quickly lightened the mood with a joke before the air in the elevator got to heavy. “I always like tickin’ him off for no reason. It was always fun till he reddened my hide with his belt later that night… I was a stupid kid.” Tony paused to cast the kid a small smile.

“My Mom though… she was one of the nicest people you could’ve ever met. She cared so much and everyone loved her, and very rarely did anyone ever dare disrespect her. She may have been nice, but boy… if you ever crossed the line with her, she wouldn’t hesitate to set you straight after chewing your head off and spitting it out at your feet,” he smirked at the memories of his mother. “So, over the years I’ve come to find out that if you’re nice to someone and you don’t threaten to blast there brains all over the room all the time, they typically start to like you back, and that right there my boy,” he claps a hand on Harley’s shoulder, “is the first step to respect. Trust and respect are your best friends for people like us, understand?” Harley nodded his head vehemently and Tony smiled, dropping his hand from his shoulder and glancing back at the numbers. They were almost to the penthouse.

“Plus, it’s not all that fun to be a stuck up jerk all the time. Remember that Keener. You won’t ever get any friends if you’re a jerk. You’ll only get respect through blinded fear, and that isn’t true respect. That’s how you get yourself stabbed in the back. You need to command respect, and you need to deserve it. Do you understand?”

Harley nodded quickly, eyes wide and arms stiff at his side.

“Happy and Peter might still be up here. I’ll send you and Peter down to the living quarters with him.”

Harley nodded again and he doesn’t say a word. Tony’s only slightly thankful that the kid had finally shut up. The elevator doors open when they reach the penthouse level and the pair step out into the entrance of the spacious Living Room, where no living soul could be seen. Not that Tony could blame them, it was 11:00 at night

“Sir,” JARVIS pipes up, “it appears you have blood on your clothes, and Mrs. Stark has explicitly told you many times to not step foot in your room if you wreaked of any bodily fluids.”

Tony glances down and pinches at his white shirt. Sure enough… it was speckled with blood. His hand was smeared with a small coating of dried blood… he had tried wiping them off with napkins in the car, but there was only so much he could do at the time.

“Crap.”

“Does she- um. Does she not like that you hurt people or something like that?” Harley questioned in a whisper, casting a weary glance to the sleeping man sprawled across the black sofa. He panicked slightly at the idea of having to report back to Pepper about her husband beating up dudes at night if she didn’t like him doing it. He couldn’t even begin to imagine what kind of drama that would dredge up.

“Nah, she can be as vicious as my mother when she wants to be. She’s just going through that pregnancy thing and she can’t stand the smell of blood. I swear she nearly ripped my head off one night ‘cause I forgot… got kicked to the couch and everything.”

“Wow…” Harley trails off with a low whistle and Tony continues to grumble to himself.

“Hey, kid. Do me a favor would ya. Grab me a change of clothes. Second drawer down on the left-”

“Wait,” Harley startled, eyes wide, “you want me to go in your room?”

Tony stares at him incredulously. “Yes. That’s where my clothes are. Now hurry along, I’m exhausted and I wanna go to bed. Grab me a shirt and some sweatpants while I go wash up. Don't wake Pepper if she's asleep.”

Then with that, he walks off and leaves Harley to spin in a helpless circle, trying to figure out where exactly this bedroom he spoke of was.

“I’ll show you the way, sir.” JARVIS speaks up as a light next to a hallway begins to flicker. Harley follows curiously and sure enough, it leads him right to the outside of a pair of large double doors. He hesitates… Pepper might be in there.

He cracks the door open and peaks in. He sees someone’s shadow casting along the wall next to the doorway - whom he assumes must be Pepper’s - shift, and he shuffles into the room before he was maimed for being a surprise intruder. He had met Pepper already of course, and, sure, she was nice, but he had heard horror stories about the woman, and he didn’t want to end up on her bad side so early on.

“Mrs. Stark? You’re awake.” The woman was sitting up against the headboard, reading a book by the soft glow of a lamp.

“Oh, Harley,” she smiled, “it’s so nice to see you again.” She spoke in a hushed tone, and Harley just vaguely registered the small lump and head of curls cuddled beside her. “What are you doing here so late? You should be in bed.”

“Oh-um-um Tony asked me to grab him a change of clothes since he got some blood on the ones he’s wearing now.”

Pepper’s smile dropped into a frown and she fixed Harley with a stern gaze as she slowly studied them.

“You were there?” She concluded with a small, irritated huff.

“Uhhh, yes?”

Her eyes narrowed further. “It wasn’t too graphic was it? He knows better.”

“Oh! No ma’am. He was very um-um aware of my presence. I mean he did beat up the dude ‘cause he kicked me.” Harley quickly jumped to Tony’s defense. He didn’t want to risk getting the man in trouble so early on.

“The dude did _what_ to you?”

“It was an accident. It wasn’t the Boss’ fault, I promise. I was just being stupid.”

Pepper’s lips quirked up at the corners and Harley didn’t really know why.

“Why are you so quick to defend Tony, hmm?”

Harley’s brows furrowed, and he scuttled across the room towards the dresser to distract himself and hide his reddening cheeks. “I-I-I don’ know. He’s nice I guess…” His voice drops to shy whisper as he rifles through the clothes distractedly. “He’s cool. I want ‘im to like me... so-so that I can find out more stuff for you of course.”

Pepper hums again in acknowledgement and Harley turns around just in time to catch her warm smile. He drapes the clothes over his arm and shyly hangs his head to stare at his shoes.

“I’m sure he likes you just fine. Just like I told you, you are one of his favorites.” Pepper affirms. Harley perks up and stares at her with a hopeful gleam in his eyes.

“Yeah?”

“Mhm,” she nods. “Did you learn anything tonight?”

Harley brightens a bit at that, but then his face falls into a worried frown and he glances at the door. “Yeah, I found out a lot… He’s probably waiting for me though. I-I don’t think it’s a good idea to-to talk ‘bout it now, ‘cause it’s gonna take a while…”

“That’s fine,” Pepper smiled.

“How-um. How do I get up here to see you though without anyone getting suspicious?”

Pepper’s smile was mischievous. “You tell me you little genius. You’ve seen the way Tony works and reacts firsthand. Just think… what gets him tickin’? This is all part of your training, so you better figure it out.”

Harley smiles and nods his head excitedly. “Yeah… I think I’m starting to get an idea.”

“Great, now come give me a hug. I haven’t seen you for a few hours.” She opens her arms to him and Harley shuffles over to give her an awkward hug.

He hated to admit how warm and fuzzy it made him feel, and he most definitely didn’t want to curl up next to her in the bed and hug her all night just like he’d do with his mother when he was younger. He was too old for that now. Almost a man. So, he let go and didn’t dwell on the cold that immediately followed.

* * *

Tony was dressed and ready for bed when he came into the room. Harley had been sent down to bed and Tony was just ready to climb into his own bed, kiss his wife a good few times, say goodnight to his daughter, and go to sleep..

“Hey Pep,” he smiled lazily, crawling into his side of the bed. "How’d it go with Peter today?” He propped his elbow up on the bed and leaned his cheek against his palm so he could look at his wife. “Tell me everything about your day.”

Pepper doesn’t say a word as she gently lifts up the covers beside her with a coy grin. Tony stares at the boy beneath the comforter dumbly.

“Is there a reason there’s a child in my bed?” He asked with annoyance laced in his tone. His relaxed pose drops, and Pepper can almost feel him physically stiffen against the mattress as he looks down at the cute child curled up next to his wife.

“He had a really terrible nightmare about his father, and Happy brought him up because he was asking for me” Pepper answered defiantly. “And he’s staying right here. I’m not going to be letting him out of my sight anytime soon after the things he’s told me. If you have a problem with that then you can go make yourself comfortable on the couch.”

Tony fixes her with an annoyed look. He decided to dig deeper into that whole nightmare bit when he wasn't exhausted and butt-hurt. Then, he looked down at the kid again. He was curled up with his thumb in his mouth and the back of his head pressed close to Pepper’s side. He found himself feeling sympathetic for the boy, but he shook himself out of it. Letting a child sleep in his bed was stepping very close to that line he had drawn as soon as the boy had fallen into his care. Although, at this point he can barely remember what that line was.

“He’s not our child, Pep. He doesn’t need to be sleeping with us. He has his own bed downstairs. He can sleep with Harley if he gets any more nightmares.”

“Tony,” she reprimands with a disappointed glare. She found herself getting irritated, irked, and completely furious with her husband. This was her baby. “He’s a baby.”

“He’s Richard Parker’s baby. Not mine.” Tony responded tersely… he didn’t need to fall any more in love with this boy more than he already has.

“Exactly,” Pepper scolded. “He is Richard Parker’s son, which probably means he hasn’t had a proper hug since his mother died. You know exactly how that man is, and you know better than anyone that that isn’t any way a child should be treated. Peter’s still young and he needs somebody to love him.”

Tony wanted to argue he really did, because he really didn’t want a psychopath's kid sleeping in his bed, next to his pregnant wife.

“That still doesn’t make him our kid, Pep,” Tony warned, lifting his side of the covers to settle beneath them. Pepper makes a small noise in disagreement, but other than that doesn’t say a word. She reaches over to turn off the lamp and put down her book as Tony murmured “ _Mommy hormones_ ” under his breath. He inched closer to her on the bed, hyper aware of the tiny child in the space between them, and he reached out a hand to stroke her belly. He leaned down and kissed the fabric of her shirt, whispering a quiet ‘goodnight Maguna’, and then lifting his head to give his wife a proper kiss. “Goodnight Deary. I love you.”

He settled back in his own space and Pepper smiled over at him. Then, for some reason, his hand found itself hovering over Peter’s head. His cheek found the pillow and he watched the boy with just a bit of fascination, letting his hand fall onto the soft mop of wild brown curls, wondering if this is what it would be like for the rest of his life. He let his thumb wander down to smooth across the kid’s forehead, and Peter snuffled, nose scrunching as his entire body moved to nuzzle his hand. Tony fought against the smile and then dropped his hands, mouthing ‘Goodnight Petey’ into the darkness… because that way Pepper wouldn’t be able to see him.

“Think of it as practice Tony.” She whispered through the silence.

So that’s what he did, and if he found the kid leeched to his side the next morning… he didn’t think he’d really care.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! I got this out a lot faster then I thought I would. I hope it's not too OOC. I've been really struggling with Harley and also Tony a bit... anyway this is the beginning of the irondad guys! From here on out Pete and Tony will be an adorable father and son duo! So if y'all have any questions just ask, I'd be happy to answer. And I love hearing from each and every one of you, I get so excited when I see a new message in my inbox :) Please lemme know what you thought. I love you all! Thank you so much for reading and I hope it didn't disappoint!!! :D
> 
> Btw jwriter819 gave me the idea for Pete having a nightmare and calling for his Mama but meaning Pepper. All their stories are a-mazing so please go and read them!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Do not confuse a broken person for an evil person. A broken person can be fixed an evil person cannot. An evil person causes pain, and hurts others without remorse or a second thought. They deliberately cause chaos and thrive off of terror. A broken person would never do this, knowing how it feels to be on the other side. Don't confuse someone who can be saved with someone you will need to be saved from." 
> 
> \- Jazz Zo Marcellus (I changed it just a bit tho)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ^^^  
> I just really like that quote!  
> Anyways! I gots lots and lots of flufffff!!! Enjoy

Tony jolts awake in a sudden panic. His eyes snapped open, blood pounding against his ears and his heart hammering in his chest with no recollection of what had caused it. All he knew was that he couldn’t breathe. His lashes fluttered wildly as his eyes rolled to the back of his head, and he rushed to take in a breath which only resulted in a few desperate gasps. Then it hit him… His senses flooded back and he felt a numbing sting in his arm. A hand was wrapped tightly around his left wrist and a heavy weight was laid on his chest. He was trapped…

His immediate instinct was to fight off the stranger or whatever danger it was that had him trapped on his bed. His body shook with anticipation, and his chest spasmed from the harsh movements, but then there was an annoyed little snuffle from beside him and he found himself freezing in place. His eyes snapped downwards, towards the noise and he choked back a startled shout, muffling it in his throat so it sounded more like a strangled scream. He cursed himself, ashamed and embarrassed for panicking over a tiny kid laying across him. It was pathetic.

His left arm was propped up on his chest just as it usually was every night, but this time there was another small arm  draped across his front to meet his hand halfway and small little fingers were curled tightly around his wrist in an iron grip. It belonged to Peter; the little boy his wife had insisted on letting sleep with them the previous night. He was tucked beneath his right arm, snug and comfortable in the crevice of his armpit and Tony found himself grumbling ever so slightly.

Soon after he regained his composure he began shifting uncomfortably, unsure of what to do. He grimaced, tugging at his arm to release himself from Peter’s grip so he might be able to control his panic that was sadly still enveloping him. It was a weakness that he hated, because not even Pepper was able to grab ahold of his left hand without sending a jolt of panic through his spine.  After the third tug, his hand was released, but the tiny fingers didn’t seem to be all that fond of it. He watched, horrified, as a low, guttural growl emitted from the boy tucked into his side. His fingers clenched and unclenched above Tony’s abdomen, wriggling like frustrated worms. His face screwed into an angry frown and he shifted, mewling angrily as he fought at the confines of Tony’s right arm, which had at some point of the night wrapped around Peter’s small form in a protective embrace.

That’s when Tony started panicking again. He floundered, tossing his head to the side to look for his wife, only to find her back to him, sleeping soundly beneath the mound of covers that had been tossed onto her side of the bed. Peter kept pushing against him, whining… and Tony didn’t understand why he didn’t just… let go of him like the boy seemed to want him to do. Instead, he kept his right arm firmly in place, and for some ungodly reason reached his left hand up towards Peter’s frustrated fingers.

“Shh,” Tony hushed, sacrificing two of his fingers for the boy to grab on to. He didn’t know what possessed him to do what he did… he didn’t know what stupid paternity obsessed angel overtook his body, because he started patting the boy’s bottom softly, just like you’d do with a whiny baby. “Shh,” he sighed, mostly to himself as he continued patting the boy’s backside gently.

Peter immediately quieted down, reduced to pleased snuffles as he scooted closer. Tony just watched, with only a tiny bit of fascination… because he’d done that. Him. By himself. Without Pepper’s help. He calmed down the kid with only a couple fingers and a few butt taps… that was it. He would never admit it out loud, but he was immensely proud of himself.

Then, as if the kid wasn’t already crowding his personal space enough, Tony watched as his little leg hooked itself over his hip, effectively pulling himself even closer to his side.

Tony just stared for a couple moments before he found himself unsure of what to do next.

“Pepper,” he whispered loudly, turning his head back and forth to look between the woman’s outline beneath the comforter and the boy snuggled up next to him, as if he were unsure of where to focus his attention. “Pepper - hey!”

“ _What_ Tony?” She moaned snappishly. She was always kinda snappy in the morning.

“Look.” ****

He made enough ruckus to suede her into rolling over in bed to look at what was oh so important enough to interrupt her sleep. ****

Tony gestured at the tiny koala wrapped around his waist and tucked under his arm. Pepper smiled tiredly at him, her gaze lingering on the tiny hand wrapped around two of his fingers. He smiled a bit too…

“I think he likes me Pep,” he whispered, awkwardly patting the kid’s back.

“I already knew that,” Pepper whispered, lifting her hand to cover a small yawn. “He kept asking about you yesterday.”

Tony lifts a suspicious eyebrow and glances down at the kid again. “Really? I’d expect him to ask for Happy. I haven’t really done anything with him to make him like me.”

“Well,” Pepper smiled, reaching out her hand to card through the kid’s curls. “You were the first one to be nice to him since his mother died. He trusts you.” She leans down to nuzzle her face into Peter’s mop of hair. “Do you have something important you need to get done today? Peter might like to spend some time with you-”

He cut her off before she could finish the thought… he didn’t- Peter didn’t need to be following him around today.

“Yeah, I got something important to finish up.” Tony nods, watching, transfixed, as her fingers wove through the soft looking curls, face pressed close to him without any hesitation or doubt as she lovingly groomed his wild hair. Openly loving the boy with an unending amount of affection. He kinda wished he had the confidence to do that too, though he was sure he’d be able to do it with Morgan once the time came. “Rogers handed over an old CI of his last night. He supposedly has a few more tricks up his sleeve. He’s got a mouth on him though… gonna be kinda hard to crack I think.” He tossed his head to look over at her again. “I’m kinda dreading it a little.”

Pepper only hummed without looking at him. “Same guy that kicked Harley last night?”

Tony gulped, only slightly. “Kid tattled on me already, huh?” Pepper simply looked up at him, not amused. “I took care of that last night. He won’t be touching another kid anytime soon and Harley won’t be going anywhere near him either. Once I get everything I need I’ll just go dump his body in a lake somewhere.”

Pepper stared at him for a moment. “The man, right?”

“Of course the man!” Tony retaliated angrily, “who else? You think I’d off Harley? He’s a brat, but not that much of a brat.”

Pepper smirked, leaning away from him and Peter. He glares playfully at her. “Whatever. I’m just gonna get done what I can today.”

He sees Pepper’s eyebrows crease a bit and he immediately knows what’s coming. “Maybe I could come down for a bit and-”

“No, absolutely not,” Tony interjected with a stern frown. “Bruce told you to rest for a reason. Work puts too much stress on you and the baby. You don’t need to overwork yourself.” ****

Pepper narrowed her brows at him dangerously, and he could already see the storm brewing behind her eyes. “I’m starting to think you put him up to all this ‘cause you’re just paranoid. I can handle myself fine, Tony.”

“I know you can handle yourself fine. What I’m worried about is the precious cargo you’re supposed to be lugging around for another couple months.” If he had a free arm he would have reached out to stroke her stomach just to make the point. “I can’t risk you getting accidentally hurt, or too stressed out. There’s a lot going on right now and I don’t want it to overwhelm you. Not again.”

Pepper’s face falls and her eyes cast down. “We both know that last time was… it wasn’t something you could have controlled Tony.”  

“Yes it was!” He snarled, huffing angrily. He felt the small fingers around his twitch in surprise, so he lowered his voice. “Killian kidnapped you ‘cause of me. That was my fault. Don’t excuse that.”

Pepper’s lips pursed. “It’s different now, though Tony. Me going downstairs and doing a bit of non strenuous work every once in a while won’t effect Morgan. Pregnant women go to work all the time. It’s not dangerous, I promise.” ****

Tony narrows his eyes pointedly. “But what if it is? What if some random psychopath waltzes in pretending to be on our side, but ends up shooting up the place? You could get hurt. What if a riot breaks out? What if-What if you-your working in my office and one of my guns go off ‘cause I forgot to calibrate if correctly? I can’t risk it. It’s too dangerous. Our work is dangerous, you know that Pep.”  

“I’m a big girl, Honey.” She retaliates with a frustrated sigh. 

“I know, but I’m the Boss. What I say goes.  And I say you’re grounded until you pop that little thing out of your lady parts.” Tony insists sternly.

“Fine,” Pepper relents with a roll of her eyes, “but can you at least have JARVIS unlock the normal news channels? I have no idea what’s going on out in the world and it’s starting to make me feel like Rapunzel.”

Tony’s face scrunched up with anxiety, and Pepper reached over to smooth out his frown with a small smile.

“I know you’re just trying to protect me, but some things you just need to let go of Honey. I’m a grown woman and I don’t appreciate being controlled.” Tony grit his teeth together. She pulled the _‘appreciate’_ card. _I don’t appreciate you being so reckless, Tony. I don’t appreciate your tone, Tony. I don’t appreciate you ignoring me for days on end, Tony_. He hated the word appreciate.

“Fine, but I’m ordering another check up from Bruce in a week, and if your anxiety has spiked _at all_ I’m blocking ‘em again.”

There was a heavy silence at that, and Tony turned away to avoid Pepper’s scrutinizing gaze. ****

“What is it you’re not telling me Tony?” Pepper questioned suspiciously, narrowing her eyes at him. ****

Before Tony has the chance to think up some ridiculous excuse, the kid next to him started to stir and Tony jolted to attention, staring down at it as if the little body were rigged to blow at the smallest provocation. ****

“Good morning Peter,” Pepper spoke warmly, rubbing a hand down his back.

Tony can see an adorable little smile spread across the kid’s face as he wriggles around to nuzzle his face more firmly against the side of Tony’s sturdy chest. Tony feels his stomach flutter and the arm Peter was tucked under started to twitch nervously. ****

“Mm,” Peter hummed in answer, “Mornin’.” Then he released a cutesy little yawn and scooted closer again. Tony didn’t know how it was possible because he had already been leached impossibly close to his side to begin with. His little fists curled tighter around his two fingers and Tony looked back to his face to see he was quickly being pulled back into dreamland. ****

Nope. Couldn’t have that. He had to get up and get some work done before it got too late… there was so much to do. Either Peter had to scooch over and snuggle with Pepper to sleep, or he needed to wake up. Either way, the kid needed to let go of him… and he didn’t have the heart to just push him away. Also, Pepper would probably glare at him for a straight week if he did that.

“Hi Peter,” He spoke, just loud enough to be above a whisper. Peter jolted awake at that and stared up at Tony’s face as if he couldn’t quite believe it. ****

“‘Ony?” His eyes were wide with wonderment as he stared up at his face. His fist let go of Tony’s fingers, and the man quickly hid his hand at his side before the boy could change his mind. Peter didn’t seem fazed. Instead, a bright smile broke across his face and he reached up to stroke the prickly hair on Tony’s face in a loving gesture. “Hi.”

Tony smiled back. Or at least he tried. He wasn’t sure if it looked more like a smile or more like a grimace. He still wasn’t all that used to interacting with a child.

“Hey. I have to get up to go to work soon. Do you wanna wake up and maybe-”

“I wanna go,” Peter immediately interjected. “Can I come?”

Tony shared a look with Pepper and he found himself floundering for possibly the fifth time that morning. “Uhh. I have some adult work to do, but maybe Harley can hang out with you for awhile. Or you can stay with Pepper again...”

Peter’s face scrunched as if he were seriously pondering what Tony had said. He sat up slowly and kneeled on the mattress with his finger tapping his chin dramatically. His knees pressed into Tony’s side as he hovered above the man with a contemplative frown.

“Do ‘ou have to kill bad person today?” He asked seriously, and, again, Tony found himself at a loss for words. ****

“Uh-well… um not today I hope.” ****

The kid was intuitive for his age, that was for sure.

“Oh, okay.” Peter smiled, falling backwards into the soft comforter so his head landed somewhere near Pepper’s hip. Pepper’s smile was warm as she leaned down to press several soft kisses to his face. Soon, his little legs were kicking at Tony’s right arm and his body shook with uncontrolled peals of laughter as Pepper pretended to eat his nose.

“Om Nom Nom! So good!” She exclaimed, followed by Peter’s cheerful shriek.

Tony smiled at the domesticity and threw his legs over the side of the bed to escape the onslaught from Peter’s legs. He made his way around the room, getting ready for the day while Pepper and Peter lounged on the bed beneath a mountain of blankets.

By the time he was dressed and ready, Peter had snuggled up next to Pepper, rubbing her baby belly lovingly and whispering little nothings against her shirt.

“I’m so bery ex’ited to meet ‘ou MooMoo. We will p’ay so much, and Mama an’ Daddy will p’ay too.” He whispered with his cheek resting against the bump. Tony felt a twinge of something in his stomach and he frowned. It was weird… It was weird to hear Richard Parker’s kid refer to him and his wife as Mama and Daddy even though Tony was almost 100% sure the kid didn’t really mean it in that way. He glanced at Pepper’s face and she didn’t seem fazed, so he dismissed the feeling as a simple overreaction.

He walked over and placed a sweet kiss on Pepper’s forehead and lips before straightening back up and smoothing down his crisp white shirt. He turned to look at Peter and the kid was looking up at him expectantly with a tiny hand raised towards him. Apparently he was finished speaking with Morgan.

“What?” Tony asked incredulously with a slight scoff.

Peter just glared at him indignantly, raising his arm all the more insistently.

Tony looked over at Pepper for some help, but she didn’t offer him any. She just bit down on her bottom lip to hold back her smirk. It took another couple of awkward looks on his part, and irritated scowls on Peter’s part before Pepper decided to pitch in.

“I think he wants a kiss too.” She answered, and just to make sure Tony got the idea, she grabbed Peter by the waist and pulled him closer to pepper the side of his head in several kisses, making obnoxious MWAH noises to accentuate each loving smack of lips. “He loves his kisses!”

“Hmm,” Tony hummed in slight annoyance. Peter maintained sharp eye contact with him through Pepper’s attack though. He seemed pretty dead set on getting a kiss… Not that Tony didn’t want to kiss him and tickle him until he cackled and kicked, squealing and giggling like he was the happiest kid on Earth. He wanted to… but that’s just not something he did. It’s not something Tony Stark would do… Just because he wanted to do something didn’t mean he should… Although, that logic never stopped him before. So, Tony reached out a hand towards the kid, wearing a small grin. He decided to just maybe let loose this one time. It would be good _practice_ , right?

Peter eagerly scrambled away from Pepper with his hand held out to grab onto the man’s. He giggled manically in anticipation and Tony couldn’t hold back the smirk any longer. He grabbed the little boy by the waist and tugged him forward with a playful growl. The boy squealed in delight and Tony pressed a big sloppy kiss to his cheek, then another, and another, because he just couldn’t resist it anymore. Peter laughed and laughed and it was quite possibly the best sound he’d ever heard. ****

Peter pushed at his cheek, attempting to scramble away from the ticklish feeling of the man’s prickly beard scraping along his face.

“Is that what you wanted?” Tony teased huffily, accentuating it with another kiss to his jaw. He wriggled his fingers against the boy’s side and Peter shrieked through his hyperactive giggles. Tony tossed him on the mattress and leaned over him to hold him down as he blew a raspberry on his cheek.

Peter kicked at his chest, shrieking with laughter and Tony found himself chuckling giddily along with him. He placed one more kiss onto the tip of Peter’s nose before pushing himself off the bed and straightening his tie. He was slightly out of breath, but he didn’t care. Peter’s starry grin and cute little giggles from the aftershock were worth it.

“Alright,” he sighed with a small smile, “well, that was fun.” He winked playfully at Pepper and leaned over to give her another goodbye kiss. “Love you hon. Be good for Pep, Pete.” **** He straightened the collar of his jacket and glanced back to see Pete happily waving goodbye at him. He smiled back at the kid as he smoothed back his hair and left the room.

* * *

Tony was on his way to greet the new guest they’d acquired last night when he was intercepted by Harley on the common floor. He narrowed his eyes suspiciously as the boy slowly slinked up towards him, casting worried glances towards the young men around them. Tony heard a select few snickering, and he frowned… but then he spotted the disassembled TV remote on the large coffee table. 

“You butcher the new remote already, kid?” Tony chuckled. Harley rolled his eyes and casted his head so it was bowed.

“Yeah, it had something I needed... Happy wasn’t too, well, _happy_ … but um, Boss?” He started tentatively, an arm wrapped protectively around his middle. Tony narrowed his eyes again, taking in the boy’s odd posture.

“What’s up kid?”

Harley leaned in a little closer, casting his gaze around at the other men, and few women, that were lounging around in the common area. Two of them were already getting at piecing together the guts of the TV remote on the table “I-I-I don’t wanna make a big deal, but um… you remember when that guy kicked me last night?”

Tony nodded and immediately reached out to grab onto his shoulder. Then his hand lifted to cup the side of his neck, thumb resting on the line of the kid’s jaw to force the kid’s head up to look at him... thankfully Harley didn’t fight against the contact.

“What’s wrong?” Tony asked seriously.

“I think I, like, got really hurt or something... “ at the word ‘hurt’ Tony was already dragging the boy along with him, veering off of his path towards Sam WIlson’s newly appointed room, and back to the elevator, but Harley kept rambling on. “I-I didn’t even notice anything different until I saw the _huge_ bruise this morning. It really doesn’t even hurt that bad, but I just thought you should know, ‘cause I don’t know if I can spar with Happy today… and I didn’t, like, want to bleed out from internal damage or something like that.”

“You’re not going to spar with anyone for a good week.” Tony insisted a bit angrily. His teeth snapped together in irritation, and his grip on the kid’s shoulder didn’t loosen.

“Are you mad? You seem like you’re mad.” Harley questioned with a slight quirk to his brow. Tony was happy to see no fear in his eyes as he asked the question. ****

“I’m pissed that I didn’t hit that bastard hard enough. Why didn’t you inform Happy? He’s supposed to be your supervisor. He’s supposed to be taking care of you.”

Harley paused and Tony saw something similar to panic flicker across his face. Then, his cheeks reddened slightly before he started stammering out an excuse, “I… he was busy with the older trainees…. Where are we going?” Harley glanced up at the climbing numbers hopefully.

“To the penthouse,” Tony answered offhandedly. “JARVIS, have Dr. Banner meet us in the penthouse. I want him to check up on Harley.”

“Right away Sir,” JARVIS responded in kind.

“Great.” Then Tony turns to look at him, but he doesn’t say a word. ****

Tony set up Harley on the couch while Peter and Pepper peak in at them curiously, messing with breakfast in the kitchen… Peter was standing on a chair so he could help stir the pancake batter. Pepper watched in slight amusement as Tony fussed over the kid, and when she caught Harley’s eye, she offered him a small wink. Then the elevator doors opened and Bruce Banner walked out with a bag in his hand.

“Hey Bruce. Thanks for coming so early, I know you like to sleep,” Tony joked with a small smirk. “I need you to check the kid’s ribs. He was complaining about this morning. Check his head too. It looked like he hit it pretty hard when he landed last night.”

Bruce nodded, adjusting the glasses on his nose as he approached them. Tony clapped him on the shoulder then turned to Harley.

“Alright, Bruce’ll take good care of ya. I need to go beat up the jerk that did this some more.” Then Tony turns to address the two other adults in the room. “Have JARVIS give me a report on him. If he’s allowed to be up and moving around he’s more than welcome to come see me after I’ve finished with Wilson. If not, I want him to stay up here and relax until he’s healed. Understood?

Bruce offered him an exasperated smile and nodded his head.

“I wanna come see ‘ou too!” Peter shouted from the kitchen, waving his hand frantically to get the man’s attention.

“Maybe later kid,” Tony answered. **** Peter pouted, then lifted his other hand to join the first one as if asking to be picked up. “Kiss?”

Tony’s frown tightened at the soft longing in his little-boy voice, and he found himself answering in the same way. ****

“Maybe later kid.”

* * *

“Now are you willing to talk?” Tony questioned earnestly, shaking out his hand as he looked down at the bloodied man. The only response was a glob of blood being spat out onto his shoes.

“Screw you man,” He groaned, glaring up at Tony.

Tony just couldn’t help himself. A sharp right hook sent the man’s head to the left, and a left snapped it to the right. At this point, he felt that his go-to interrogation methods wouldn’t be getting him anywhere. The guy was tough, he’d give him that. So he grabbed the man’s bruised jaw between his hand and squeezed just before the point he knew he would hear telltale snap, and he tried one last time. “Tell me what you know about Oscorp.”

“Why the hell would I tell you?” The man choked out, staring up at him with blood shot eyes, threatening to close at any moment. And then he had the audacity to laugh. “Where’s all your fancy torturin’ tools, hm? I’ve heard great things ‘bout you Stark. So far I’m not so impressed.” He grinned to show off the pearly whites that had been saturated in a dark, sheeming red… a few new teeth were missing too. Tony released him with a harsh shove.

Tony had to admire his resilience and he fell back into the chair across from the man.

“I don’t usually pull ‘em out till I need to,” he shrugged his shoulder, offering the man an amused grin of his own. “Most guys’ll give in after the second punch and I don’t really like dirtying my equipment for no reason.” Tony rolled his eyes as if he was honest to goodness frustrated with the thought. “I hate it, ‘cause then Happy or Allen will complain and argue about who’s turn it is to wash the stuff,” he sighed, “it’s such a pain.”

Sam raised an eyebrow, but the eye beneath it was swollen shut. “You’re worried about _cleaning_ your torture stuff?” He scoffed, a few spittles of red escaping his lips.

Tony scoffed right back. “Of course. I’m not an _animal_. I don’t like it when infection beats me to the most satisfying part.” His grin spread to each corner of his face, eyebrows narrowed to accentuate the wickedness of his smile.

“You’re a bastard,” Sam groaned, slumping in his chair heavily.

“I am, but everyone already knows that. But what I wanna know is why _you_ are so against me?” Tony questioned curiously. His eyes glinted in amusement as he crossed one leg over the other.

"You're a heartless killer. And it makes me sick," He spat. “You torture innocent people and call it _justice_.” He spat out the word as if it had wronged him in some way… and in a way it had, judging by the situation he was in right then. “You’re no better than the people you claim you’re protecting the world against.”

Tony leaned closer and raised his brow. He was quick to correct the man with one simple statement. "I only kill when they deserve it."

"Oh please! Keep telling yourself that. You killed a detective in cold-blood. Everyone knows it was you," Sam accused, despite the fact that his eyes were rolling into the back of his head.

"Oh yes, I remember that one. He definitely deserved that. He had blood on his hands. Two innocent young boys and an older woman." Tony shrugged with a small grin, tsking patronizingly.

That didn’t seem to deter Sam. It only made him angrier.

"You killed a school teacher! His body was sliced up as if you had decided to paint his skin using a knife." Sam just seemed to get himself more and more worked up.

"Pedophile. Two little girls. Eight and Nine. They told me themselves when they spotted me on the street.They knew I’d help them."

Sam threw himself against the restrains, glaring as if that would help make his point.

“A LAWYER!”

“Abused his wife. Couldn’t let ‘im get away with that, could I?” Tony shrugged nonchalantly. ****

“You’ve kidnapped two kids,” he snarled. “They’re missing, but I know it was you.”

“Oh you do now?” Tony laughed. “Please enlighten me.”

“I saw the first one last night,” Sam grinned, thinking he finally caught a genuine misdeed on Tony’s part. “The other’s Richard Parker’s kid. Everyone knows you took him.”

“I did actually,” Tony admitted with a reminiscent smile. “Well, technically Romanoff did, but I kept him. Saw him this morning actually. The kid’s absolutely precious, Pepper loves him, and boy,” he blew out a low whistle, “that kid loves his hugs and kisses. No wonder he likes Pep so much… she indulges the kid at every waking moment.” ****

“You still kidnapped ‘im,” Sam insisted.

Tony furrowed his eyebrows softly. “I think of it more like “saving” him. He deserves a better father than what life handed to him. You of all people should know the terrible things Richard Parker’s done. Don’t for a second think that Peter hasn’t suffered at his hands at some point.”

Sam didn't seem to have anything more to share with him. So, Tony leaned in further and narrowed his eyes. "What is it really? You've helped men worse than what you seem to think I am."

“I don’t help Nazis,” the man spat, baring his bloody teeth with hate fueled eyes. Just like a true American patriot.

Tony laughed outright at that. “Buddy you think we’re Hydra?”

Sam Wilson’s scowl falters for only a second and Tony finally understands.

“Yeah, no, if we were Hydra, you’d be turned inside out by now. I’ve still got a little bit of humanity left inside me.”

“That’s bull,” the man spat, “I know who you really are Stark. I’ve seen the news. Everyone has. You’re a leader of Hydra; the President says you need to be killed. You’re a wanted man here and all across Europe..”

Tony leaned forward so his elbows were braced against his knees. That was a bit of a sour topic… he didn’t really appreciate being called a Hydra leader all that much, but, hey, what can you do when the President of the United States is out for your head? Politicians will say anything to get what they want, that’s been proven true time and time again. Tony just doesn’t understand why anyone trusts what any man in power says anymore. Everyone’s just naive these days.

“I didn’t realize we were playing two truths one lie…” The man didn’t respond, so Tony continued. “You can’t believe everything you see on the news, especially when President Ross is a biased idiot. I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if he were paying off Hydra on the downlow so they won’t kill him… Listen, we’re not Hydra, we’re not Shield. I’m just a very angry man trying to fix the mess the idiots of the world have created.”

Wilson’s harsh glare didn’t falter. “Why do you need information on Oscorp then?”

Tony narrowed his eyes. “I’m out for Richard Parker. Personal vendetta you could say. Now onto what you said… Is Hydra correlated with Oscorp. Are they collaborating? Is that why you were so hesitant to share what you know?”

Sam visibly grit his teeth.

“I’ve known about the Hydra infestation in Shield for a while now. I didn’t know how deep it ran… All I know is that they’re planning something big, and Oscorp is a part of that plan.”

Tony’s eyes narrowed dangerously. He finally saw what he was looking for in Sam’s eyes; a good man. Wilson was a good man despite the poor situations he’d found himself in over the years. Wilson was beginning to trust him… for now at least.

 He stood from the chair. He approached the door and threw it open. ****

“Get this man out of these restraints. Get him some food, water, and a place to rest. Don’t let anyone lay a hand on him until I give the say so.” He turns back to Sam. “If Oscorp is part of this then the Hydra infestation runs a lot deeper than we thought.”

If Oscorp is really Hydra… then he’s lost any excuse to say Stane wasn’t.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you so much for reading guys!!! I really appreciate all your support! I love you all so much! Lemme know what you think!!
> 
> Sidenote: I've edited the first chapter quite a bit if you ever get bored. There's lots of foreshadowing and stuff... so yeah.
> 
> Love you! See you soon!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is fairly Harley-centric, but there is plenty of Peter in it too.
> 
> ...I just wanted to give Harley a bit of background and character development before I dove straight into some more plot and irondad fluffiness.

Bruce frowned as his hands grazed over the well-sized bruise sweeping across Harley’s torso. It wasn’t anything major, but it definitely wasn’t something easy to look at. The large swelling accompanied by the few scars or yet to be healed gashes and bruises did not paint a pretty picture and Bruce found himself getting angry beneath the calm, unwavering facade he’s spent years practicing.

****

“The damage isn’t too bad,” he mused quietly, gritting his teeth together to keep his voice calm and steady so he wouldn’t panic the boy, “but another blow like this might end up breaking a rib or two. Be careful next time kid.” Bruce let his shirt drop and he lifted his hand to pat Harley on the shoulder, wearing a strained smile. Harley tried his best to smile back, but it came across as more of an embarrassed grimace.

****

Bruce cleared his throat and backed away, lifting a hand to push his glasses further up his nose. “I’ll-um. I’ll let Tony know you’re on your way down, yeah?”

****

Harley found himself on the verge of a panic, opening his mouth to offer what was sure to be an arguable excuse, because… well, he hadn’t quite planned it out this far. Thankfully Pepper was there to save the day and jump in before he could start fumbling over nonsensical words. “Actually Bruce, I was hoping Harley would stay up here to have breakfast with me and Peter. I’ll send him back down to Tony when we’re done.”   


The man didn’t think anything of it. In fact, he fought to restrain the wide smile that threatened to break out across his face. “I’m sure Harley will enjoy that.” Bruce turned to smile down at him and again Harley returned the smile with an awkward grimace. “Well-um. Have fun. I’ll have JARVIS send Tony the diagnosis.”

  
“Okay Bruce,” Pepper smiled brightly as she busied herself in setting out three places at the dining table. “Take care.”

****

“You too Pepper. Try and stay off your feet please.” Bruce offered with one last wave before stepping onto the elevator.

****

As soon as he was gone, Harley lept from the couch, releasing the breath of air he had been pretty much holding ever since he even began contemplating the idea of complaining about his tiny little bruise to Tony to sidle his way up into the man’s penthouse to see Pepper. 

****

He rushed towards the dining room where Pepper was now busy situating Peter on top of a pile of books so he could reach the food at his spot on the table.

  
“Pretty smart, right?” Harley bragged with a proud smile. “I didn’t even think it would work.”

****

Pepper hid an amused smile of her own by biting her lip. She cut Peter’s syrup soaked pancakes into small squares as the younger boy gazed up at Harley with two fingers hanging from his mouth, and wide, curious eyes.

  
“Wha’ work?” He questioned and Harley snapped his mouth shut before he started stammering like a fool.

****

“It’s nothing sweetie to worry about sweetie. Harley just wanted to come up and visit with us. Now eat your pancakes.”

****

That didn’t seem to appease the boy in the least. His previous neutral, babyish expression fell into a frustrated pout as his fingers fell from his mouth and his eyebrows drew down in irritation. “Bu-bu-bu-” he protested indignantly.

****

“Eat your pancakes Peter,” Pepper instructed firmly. She gave him a small look and Peter backed down.

  
“Kay,” The boy huffed, reaching out to grab onto one of the soggy pancake pieces with his fingers and shove it in his mouth.

  
“Harley, honey, why don’t you sit down and eat,” Pepper offered with a smile. “Then we can talk for a little while.”

****

And that’s exactly what they did, Pepper served him the most delicious pancakes he had ever eaten in his entire life. She spoke softly with both him and Peter as she ate her own plate of food at the head of the table. Peter and Harley sat on either side of her, across from each other. Peter eagerly answered all of Pepper’s questions, babbling on long after the question was answered, and even though Harley refrained from talking much, he couldn’t really help finding enjoyment in the shared meal and light conversation. It reminded him of when his mother and sister were still alive, and how lively the house would be when they were all at home.

****

“I doh see Tony now?” Peter eventually asked as he pushed his empty plate away from himself definitively. Harley watched, looking between Pepper and Peter to gauge her response and prepare for a few potential tears. Tony had practically said “no” earlier, which hadn’t seemed to be up to debate… and Harley never liked seeing Peter upset because the boy reminded him so much of his little sister… So, the next things coming out of Pepper’s mouth took him a bit by surprise. But then again, Pepper seemed to be more in charge than Tony was half the time… or so he’s heard.

****

“Why don’t I get you cleaned up. Then you can go play while Harley and I talk, and then I’m sure Harley won’t mind taking you down to see Tony, okay?” 

****

Peter nodded fervently, scrambling to get out of the chair. Pepper offered Harley an apologetic smile and moved slowly to follow the excited toddler towards the bathroom. “I’ll be right back Harley and then we can talk.”

****

So, there Harley sat. At an empty dining table, picking at his last scraps of food. The abrupt change from lively to quiet had his stomach somersaulting and all of a sudden the breakfast didn’t taste quite as appetizing as it had. His hidden smile dropped into an irritated scowl and he pushed the food away with enough force to send it slamming into Peter’s own discarded plate. The scene was all too familiar. A home, lived in and loved, yet oddly quiet, and he couldn’t find it in himself to finish the meal. All he could see was the tiny pinprick of blood trailing down his mother’s forehead as her cold body sat up limply against the chair at the head of the table with her eyes wide open and an untouched breakfast of eggs and bacon set in front of her as his sister lie beside her. Complete silence besides the sharp ringing in his ears. He dreaded the uneary quiet… then again, he dreaded the noise. Sometimes there was too much screaming and all he could feel was the bile driving up his throat with the urge to pound on a locked door to just “ _ please-please just stop. Just please Leave her alone!”  _ But the screaming always continued even in the dead silence of the night… because the silence was always the loudest.

****

“Is everything alright Mr. Keener?” JARVIS spoke up from the ceiling. Harley’s head snapped upwards, eyes wide with surprise as he shook himself from his stupor… he hadn’t thought about that in months… he didn’t know what was bringing it all back now of all times. Now, when he actually feels safe and maybe just a little happy. 

  
“Everything’s fine. I’m just full.” Harley retorted snappishly, pushing the chair away from the table so he could escape the encompassing loneliness lingering in the room… the chair scraped loudly against the tiled floor but he didn’t care. He hadn’t been completely alone since Oscorp… Happy, Allen, Rhodey, or even Tony were always there…

****

“Young sir, your heart rate has spiked significantly. Would you like me to alert Mrs. Stark of your distress?”

****

“No!” Harley demanded. The last thing he needed was for Pepper Stark to think of him as some baby that couldn’t handle being alone. He could be alone for the rest of his life and he wouldn’t give a damn! He was fine! It was just a stupid little-kiddy fear and he gritted his teeth in frustration at the thought.   
  
“What about Mr. Stark? He was fairly adamant about being informed of your wellbeing.”

****

“I’m fine JARVIS!” Harley shouted angrily, he stormed out of the room, headed straight for the couches.

****

“Whatever you say Mr. Keener,” JARVIS responded, voice lowering to take on a more monotonous tone, as if Harley had somehow hurt his feelings.

****

Harley scoffed at the thought. JARVIS was a computer.  _ It  _ was a computer. It didn’t have feelings and even if he did, Harley couldn’t care less. He collapsed on the couch, cradling his head in his hands. He doesn’t know what’s wrong, why his nerves are so spiked, why he feels like he’s going to spontaneously implode at any given second...

  
“Harley? Is everything okay?” 

****

_No. Nothing is ever okay._ _Not anymore_

****

His head snaps up in surprise. Pepper was walking into the room with Peter in her arms. She looked worried, and Harley was quick to throw on an enthusiastic smile for her. He was supposed to be tough… He was going to be a con man, a master of manipulation… just like Pepper. No one was ever allowed to know what he was thinking. He was supposed to be in control...

****

“Everything’s great! Thank you for breakfast. I’m sorry that I couldn’t finish it all. I’ve never been a big eater first thing in the morning.”

****

Harley watched as Pepper smiled softly with a small flicker of uncertainty in the way her body twitched away to avoid unneeded eye contact with him. She lowered Peter to the ground where a small pile of toys lay close by and kissed him softly on the forehead as an unobtrusive dismissal to go and play by himself. By then, her hesitant expression had been schooled and her happy, mothering facade was once more in place. She approached the couch and took a seat a few places away from him, reaching out to squeeze his hand to relay encouragement.

  
“That’s alright,” she smiled softly, releasing his hand to shuffle against the cushions to settle more comfortably against them. “Why don’t you tell me what you picked up last night. Let’s see how your first night went on-”

****

“We goin’ see Tony soon?” Peter whined loudly, something short of an angered shout.

****

“Peter don’t interrupt. That’s not nice.” Pepper instructed firmly. “If you have something important to say while someone else is talking, you say “excuse me”.” The little boy’s mouth dropped open in agape confusion and he cocked his head to the side as he stared at her.

****

Harley found it funny, and it helped ease the troubled stirring in his gut so it settled somewhere between ‘nuisance’ and ‘pain in the ass’. It eased the worry that had slowly began to creep into his bones ever since his arrival, because he realized that this right here; this unfamiliar domesticity was  _ okay _ . It was normal, it was safe, and he was  _ okay.  _ Peter was okay. Everything was finally okay now. Tony and Pepper. Rhodey and Happy. Allen and the guys. They were all okay. They were safe. There was nothing to worry about. Not anymore.

****

“Ex-escuse me?” Peter tried timidly, a worried crease between his brows, voice laced with uncertainty instead of the earlier excitement and assertfullness.

****

“What’s your question Peter?” Pepper smiled encouragingly, urging him to continue with his inquiries.

****

“Escuse me we goin’ see Tony soon?” He asked again in one long spiel without pause, though this time his head bowed shamefully as his fingers brushed gently along the small toys surrounding him.

****

Pepper nodded her head. “Yes, you can go see Tony soon, but you have to be patient, okay?”

****

“Kay,” Peter responded easily, turning back to the large Duplo blocks Pepper had ordered for him after she learned every man in this godforsaken tower was too dense to think to buy the precious child any toys, or books, or  _ anything  _ beyond clothes and a bed.

****

She turned back to look at Harley and Harley let out an amused huff as he watched Peter for a couple more moments. He was glad Peter had Pepper and Tony… Then he turned to meet Pepper’s gaze and all of a sudden he found himself growing nervous once more.

****

What if he hadn’t done a good job? It wasn’t like he learned any huge secrets beyond what Pepper already knew. What if she had super huge expectations and when he didn't live up, she’d tell Tony he wasn’t worth the time and effort…  _ Oh gosh _ … and then Tony would just drop him off on the streets again to get nabbed up by evil Oscorp goons. Or worse… Hydra. And then-and then they’re gonna end up torturing him for information… and then he’s gonna break and rat out all of Tony’s secrets and-and-and… he’d end up betraying the only man he’d ever trusted… and _ oh god _ This isn’t good.

****

“Um-Um well he talked a lot with Steve last night. They talked about Ross’ kill order and how Hy-”

  
“Wait,” Pepper interrupted with a quirked brow. “Kill order? What about the kill order?”

****

Harley frowned at her. _How did Pepper not know about the kill order out for her own husband?_ Or maybe this was still part of the whole pretend scheme. “Yeah… the kill order on Tony…” He watched her closely for any small thing she might give away in her expression. “They’re accusing him of being a leader of Hydra.”

****

Pepper’s expression doesn’t change. Her face remained firmly blank and that only seemed to feed Harley’s growing nerves until he finds himself fumbling for what to say next. He needed to be  _ perfect _ . He can’t mess up.

****

“Okay… that’s good,” Pepper hesitantly praised. “But, for this I want you to go into more depth about what’s going on,” she instructed. “Pretend I know nothing about anything. You need to give me  _ all  _ the facts you know. Some things that may seem to be common knowledge to you or the people you associate with may not be known by  _ me _ . Understand?”

****

Harley nodded. “Yes ma’am. Um… there’s been a kill order on Tony for, like, a couple weeks or so. It wasn’t long after Shield was announced as Hydra and since Tony and the Stark Family are kinda closely tied to Shield the government assumes that Tony had something to do with the takeover… Y’know, since Howard Stark helped “defeat” Hydra after Shield broke away from him, and then Shield turned out to be Hydra all along… It’s just too big of a coincidence I guess is what they’re thinking. Steve seems hesitant about it, because word's getting ‘round and Hydra’s apparently hunting Tony too and there’s no way to know who’s Hydra and who’s not since they haven’t all come out yet… somethin’ to do with Stane conspiring with Ross and Oscorp. All I know is that Tony really, really doesn’t like Oscorp right now. He has some crazy conspiracy that they’re planning to take over the world… honestly, I think he’s reading into it a bit much, but who knows,” he shrugs his shoulders, “he knows more about this stuff than I do.”

****

Pepper nods along quietly.

****

“Um-um. Apparently the people around New York though are mad ‘cause they don’t think Tony’s Hydra. They  _ know  _ he’s not actually… I’m not really sure what it was they were referring to ‘cause they were being real vague ‘bout it, but I’m pretty sure that Tony thinks Ross is dealin’ dirty with Hydra so they don’t kill him or somethin’. Rogers is supposed to look into it further. They talked about um-um bugging Ross’ phone and a couple other leaders of the UN in Europe and Asia too. I think it was um-um a dude in China, Russia, and Italy. I don’t really remember their names though… apparently Tony’s got some guys out there somewhere and he’s wanting them to work on recruiting on the down-low. And-and Rogers is supposed to send out the twins to local gangs to find Hydra guys or even some potential new guys that could help with some bigger plan he’s got going on… He didn’t really talk about that bit too much… I don’t know if it was ‘cause of me or Rogers.”

****

He paused and looked up at Pepper to make sure he was on the right track, but, again, her face remained blank.

****

“Okay, that’s actually very good Honey. Now I need you to dig a bit deeper, okay? Why does Tony think Oscorp has the intention to ‘ _ take over the world _ ’? How did Hydra break through Shield? Is Ross acting out as a lackeye of Hydra?”

****

Harley found himself floundering once more. He didn’t know the answer to that stuff! “I-I-I don’t know… they didn’t really talk about all that ‘cause- ‘cause it’s all in the news and-and all assumptions I guess. Tony just told Rogers what he wanted him to do, and Rogers tried telling him to stop killing people so that Ross won’t get suspicious of him, but then Tony got pissed. Then-then they started talking ‘bout Coulson and-and I don’t even know who that is, but apparently it’s this crazy thing because he’s not dead anymore. Then he pulled out Sam from the back of the car and-and Tony was gonna talk to him this morning. That’s all I got. I-I can get more I swear!”

****

Pepper reached out to lay a hand on his shoulder and Harley felt a bit relieved to see that her smile had returned and replaced the stoic, emotionless frown that had settled on her face through the duration of his top-secret ‘information spilling’ session.

****

“Don’t worry Honey. You did so good for your first time. I’m so proud, and I’m sure Tony would be too if he knew.”

****

Harley smiled.

 

* * *

****

“Tony, Tony, Tony, Tony, Tonnnnnyyy,” Peter sang loudly as he and Harley rode down in the elevator.

****

“Gosh dude,” Harley groaned, “just chill. You saw him this morning”

****

“We donna doh dee Tony!” Peter announced excitedly, bouncing against Harley’s hip. “I misst him so mush!” Harley sighed in annoyance and rolled his eyes in exasperation.

****

“Yes, we  _ are  _ going to go see Tony,” He enunciated. Peter had always had trouble speaking. Heck, Harley’s heard him talk more in the past few days than the whole year he had spent with him back at Oscorp. Harley blamed it on Richard, ‘cause it’s not like the man ever spoke to Peter when he wasn’t yelling, and he sure as hell didn’t let Peter speak freely (“WOULD YOU JUST SHUT UP FOR ONCE IN YOUR GODDAMN LIFE?! AND QUIT YOUR WHINING! I SHOULDA MADE YOUR MOTHER  ABORT YOU WHEN I HAD THE CHANCE YOU UNGRATEFUL BRAT!)… Harley really, really hated that man. He reminded him too much of his own father.

****

“Tony!” Peter shouted out again in celebration, throwing his arms in the air to accompany his happy shrieks of laughter. That’s the moment when the elevator doors decided to open up, depositing Harley and his handful of Peter onto the main floor where JARVIS said Tony was. Thankfully, most of the guys were out and about for the day; gone doing business for Happy or Tony, or something else that Harley never gets included in… Allen’s there though… along with a few other guys that he wasn’t quite familiar with yet.

“Hey Sprout,” Allen greeted with a big, teasing grin. Harley rolled his eyes, “looks like you’re babysittin’ the Little Dude. Wassup Peter?”

****

“Hi!” Peter greeted enthusiastically. “We aw gonna doh see Tony! We so e’cited! Right Ha’ley?”

****

“Oh really?” Allen gasped dramatically. Harley scowled at him. “He’s gonna be so excited to see you!” 

****

A couple of the guys hanging around that Harley didn’t know too well started snickering in the background. He’d only seen them around, never spoke to either of them before. So, he straightened his back and glared at them to try and establish some form of respect like Tony had vaguely taught him the day before, but that just made them laugh harder. 

****

His anxiety spiked again, something that just seemed to be happening today for some reason, and he took a step back to give a wide berth between him and Peter and the teasing that was bound to get him riled up. He felt attacked for some reason, and his skin prickled with the sudden sensation of vulnerability. 

****

“Yo Allen!” One called out through their domineering laughter. “When’d Boss get the two little tagalongs? He goin’ soft already?”

****

“Shut up!” Harley sneered. He wasn’t just some little tag along without a purpose… it felt oddly familiar to the way the younger guys at Oscorp would push him around before an inevitable pummeling. Or the way bullies at school would corner him in the courtyards when he was younger just to state their dominance with a few well placed punches to the gut.

****

“Whatcha gonna do if I don’t Sprout? Gonna go cry to your new Daddy? Tell him all ‘bout how mean we were to his wittle baby?” That just drew out more laughter. 

****

He wasn’t a baby! Tony wasn’t his Dad! He was his Boss! And just because he was younger than all the rest of them DIDN’T MEAN HE WASN’T WORTH ANYTHING! He didn’t know why he felt so worked up… Allen teased him all the time, but not like this. It was different with these two. It wasn’t poking fun, it was downright degradation to form dominance. Harley would know… he’d experienced it firsthand multiple times and he wasn’t about to let it happen again. Not here. Not in the place he had just started to view as safe.

****

“Shut up you assholes!”

****

“Oooh. You kiss your Daddy with that mouth?”

****

There was another loud roar of laughter that followed, and Harley grit his teeth together, hoping the uncomfortable thrum pulsating in his mouth would distract him. He felt his eyes burn, but he refused to cry in front of the bastards because he wasn’t a stupid baby. He watched as Allen slowly approached him with an apologetic grimace. He took Peter from Harley’s arms and all it did was make Harley feel even more exposed without the grounding weight at his hip.

****

“Ha’ley?” Peter questioned worriedly, leaning away from Allen’s hold to reach out towards Harley. “You kay?”

****

Harley didn’t respond. His face furrowed in frustration and his hands formed into tight fists.

****

“Alright Asher, that’s enough.” Allen placated, bouncing Peter in his arm as he reached out to place his other hand on Harley’s shoulder.

****

“Aw, c’mon Allen. We’re just havin’ some fun. Right Baby Boss?” Asher teased, laughing outright when he got a look at Harley’s face. The smile that spread across the man’s face was anything but fun and light, and Harley couldn’t hold it back any longer. Fight or Flight… but he was never really one to run away.

****

“Shut up!” He screamed, heart pounding erratically against his chest as his muscles spasmed in anticipation. He lunged forward towards the large man like the idiotic, emotionally-unstable teenager he was. He rammed straight into Asher’s waist, being sure to nail him right in the gut to knock the breath out of him like Happy had been trying to teach him the day before. It sent them both flying backwards into the ground, and before either of them knew it, Harley was on top of him. He straddled the man’s waist and rained down hits onto the man’s face. “Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!” He screamed, ignoring the frantic shouts around him. His heart pounded and his breathing was labored because for some reason the panic from earlier was confined into a dense ball in the pit of his stomach and all he could remember were those countless beatings all throughout his life and he just couldn’t… he just couldn’t let himself feel vulnerable to it.

****

He felt mad. He was just so mad. Asher wasn’t fighting back. He wasn’t throwing a single punch and that just made him even angrier. He heard the shouts around him and he felt the hands trying to pull him away, but he was just  _ so  _ angry. He wouldn’t fight back! He was supposed to fight back!

****

_ “Don’t hit him! Don’t hit him!”  _ That’s what Harley heard on repeat behind the sound of pained grunts and the loud contact of bone against bone… but he knew that the words weren’t meant for him.

****

“Harley!” That was Allen. It was muffled against all the other noise and the harsh screaming in his ears as the blood rushed through his head like crashing waves against his skull. “Harley get off him!”

  
Then there was more screaming. High pitched wails, and gut wrenching sobs. A sound too familiar; a sound he’d heard countless times accompanied by feelings of utter dread and helplessness from years ago. It sent more of a spike into his panic because “ _ not again-not again _ ”. It couldn’t possibly be happening again. So he just hit harder, water gushing from the corners of his eyes as the loud screams spurred him on into his panicked assault. It was absolute chaos… but Harley still didn’t get off the man. Not until he heard the loud reverberation of a familiar, commanding voice.

****

“Hey!”

****

Harley found himself involuntarily freezing, blood running cold and bile rising up his throat from the inkling of unbridled panic and fear. He couldn’t seem to find any air, and the next thing he knew he was shoved off Asher’s waist by harsh hands. He skidded across the hard ground, frozen in place with wide eyes and stuttering breaths as he stared up at the profile of the angry man in the distance. He was  _ so  _ dead.

****

“What the hell is going on here?” The voice was followed by loud, booming footsteps as he came closer and Harley would have ran if he wasn’t still fighting off the panic.

****

“He-he attacked me!” Asher spluttered, scrambling up off the floor. The men standing around them that had gathered all voiced their agreements and Harley curled in on himself when he heard the undeniable angered growl that escaped from Tony’s throat.

****

“Harley! Get off the floor.” 

****

Harley spluttered, choking on the air as a rough hand grabbed onto his bicep and helped him off the cold floor. He didn’t know what to do… he’d pissed Tony off.  _ Oh god no. Please no. Not again. _

****

He found himself shaking, and he would have keeled over if it wasn’t for Allen catching him after he had just handed off a hysterical Peter over to Tony.

****

“Allen,” Harley breathed out in a whisper, casting an anxious glance towards the genius a few feet away, busy consoling the sobbing child. “I can’t.” He gulped. “I-I-I’m sorry. I don’t know why. I-I didn’t mean to I swear it. Don’t let him hurt me. Please…”

  
Allen only responded with a reassuring, but pained smile and a hand on top of his head. 

****

Harley didn’t find that reassuring at all. He grasped onto the man’s jacket desperately. “Where’s Happy? Rhodey? Don’t let him hurt me. I didn’t mean it. I won’t do it again. I’ll be better. I promise.” He couldn’t breathe again… which was a problem. He looked like a fool. The snickering from earlier had stopped, and Harley didn’t know which was worse. The pitied silence or the loud taunts.

****

“You okay, kid?” Asher asked with genuine worry etched into his now bloody, disfigured features. He rested a hand on Harley’s back and Harley scrambled away as if he had been burned by the touch.

****

“I’m sorry-I’m sorry-i’m sorry. I didn’t mean it. I’m sorry.”

****

Harley backed away from the group of worried men. They towered over him. They were a threat. They were loyal to Tony. They would do anything Tony asked…  _ Oh god no _ . Not again. He messed up. Again. He messed up again.

****

“Hey Boss,” Allen called out without ever breaking his worried gaze away from Harley. “I think the kid’s having a panic attack or something.”

****

That statement in itself was enough to send Harley into another frenzied panic. Then, what felt like seconds later, he felt two, warm, strong hands cradle either side of his head, thumbs brushing against his cheekbones to clear away the tears that had fallen.

****

“Hey-hey, Buddy, look at me.” Tony instructed sternly, eyes narrowed seriously, and forehead puckered with worry.

****

Harley’s felt his entire body shudder as if he had been struck with a sudden onslaught of cold air, but he looked up at the man anyway… he couldn't risk pissing him off any more than he already has. Not when he’s already messed up so badly. His mouth opened to repeat the mantra of ‘I’m sorry’s’, but nothing more than several desperate gasps and pained whines escape.

****

“Hey-hey-hey,” Tony adjusted his grip as he stared down at the boy worriedly. “I need you to breathe for me, okay? Listen to me. In and out. In and out.”

****

Harley coughs and stumbles as he tries desperately to follow instructions. He gasps, straining to catch a breath of air as Tony had instructed him to do.

****

Then Tony lets go of him, and Harley isn’t sure if the action makes it better or worse. The comforting, yet demanding and powerful presence of Tony as gone… and-and well… he didn’t know how to feel. 

****

“Give me the kid,” Tony growls at Allen, arms thrust forward to take Peter from him when he had tossed the boy over during his rush to assist Harley. His voice lowers threateningly as he fixes each of the men with a harsh glare. Peter tucks into his shoulder with a soft mewl, and Tony’s sure that puts a damper on the menacing demeanor he’s trying to project. “I want a full report of what happened here from each one of you. Am I understood? Every single one of you know that this has never been and never will be allowed.” He glares pointedly at Asher and growled low and deep enough that the rumbling in his throat would have scratched it dry if he had continued any longer. “And you better be glad that you didn’t lay a hand on that boy as far as I could see, because if I find out you did there  _ will  _ be hell to pay, understood? I know the kid didn’t act out just for the hell of it. Full reports. By noon. On my desk. And don’t worry, I’ll definitely be fact checking with JARVIS if the stories don’t all line up.”

****

Harley gasps in another attempt to catch his breath, positive he was going to suffocate right there in the middle of the room. But then Tony turns towards him with a worried crease in his brow.

****

“C’mere.” He reaches towards Harley, wrapping an arm around his shoulders so he could guide him away from the group. He didn’t want to make a big show of this… and that’s exactly what this would become if they stood around any longer. Harley gasped again, eyes wide with panic as he fought fruitlessly against Tony’s grip.

****

“No-no, please,” He choked out through panicked breaths. “Sorry. Sorry. Please No.”

****

“Sh-Sh-Shh,” Tony hushed gently, pulling him in closer to his side as he led them towards the elevator. “It’s okay. I’m not mad at you Kid. Just calm down.”

****

Harley quits fighting against him, submitting to the fact that there was no escaping the man. It wasn’t long before the three of them were within the private confines of the closed elevator. Tony drops Peter to his own two feet, much to the younger boy’s irritation, and Harley finds himself guided into a rough hug. A strong arm is wrapped slowly around his upper back while a hand is flattened against the back of his head.

****

“Listen to my breaths, okay? This is perfectly normal. You aren’t dying I promise. It’s just a panic attack. It happens to the best of us. I need you to breathe in for me, okay? Breathe in with me… In… out. Good, good. You’re doing so good.” Harley’s face is pressed firmly against the man’s chest, and soon he finds himself shuffling closer to absorb the warmth, shifting his head so he can hide beneath the fabric of the man’s open suit jacket, because it’s warm, safe and dark enough to hide away from the outside world for at least a short time. Tony noticed and shifted his arm to adjust the lapels of his jacket so it wrapped around Harley as much as it would allow. “You’re okay Kiddo. Everything’s fine. You’re gonna be fine.”

****

Harley’s head is fully hidden away beneath the jacket and Tony rests his cheek gently onto the large bump protruding from beneath his jacket’s breast pocket… only for a moment though, because it’s not until after he’d done it that he realized that this entire situation wasn’t exactly something he’d ever do for any of his men, making the situation for him all the more awkward. Though, the more he thought about it, the more he realized that Harley was still just an innocent kid. A kid that had been deprived of physical affection and emotional stability for a long, long time… making him so much more vulnerable despite how much Tony knew he didn’t want to be. Life had dealt the kid a bad hand, and Tony had promised two weeks prior that he’d do everything in his power to try and make up for it. So he supposed hugging the kid when he was upset and showing him just a tiny bit of TLC wouldn’t be so bad ( _ baby’s just need some tender, love, and care Tony. TLC. It’s in every parenting book you’ll ever read. That’s all you’ll need. Everything else will just fall into place, I promise. You’re more than capable of that, I know you are.”). _

****

“Tony?” 

****

The quivering voice is soft and Tony turned his head to look down as Peter slowly wrapped his arms around his leg, pressing his face into the side of his thigh and Tony instantly felt guilty… he had completely forgot Peter was there, and the boy looked downright terrified as he stared at Harley’s quivering body hiding away against Tony’s chest.

****

“Oh boy,” Tony huffed in amusement. He let his left arm fall so he could place his hand on top of Peter’s head, leaving his other arm around Harley. “You boys are gonna be the death of me. You got me goin’ all soft.” He let a lone finger trail softly along Peter’s hair and scratching against his scalp all while he pulled the kid closer to provide some form of reassurance. “He’s fine Bubba, I promise. Just a little shaken up.” The name slipped from his mouth without a second thought, and he found his cheeks reddening slightly.

****

Harley doesn’t respond, but Peter pulls himself closer so he’s practically wedged between Tony and Harley’s legs.

****

The elevator dings softly, and Harley jumps away abruptly as if suddenly startled back into consciousness, pushing out of the embrace with such force that it nearly sends Tony stumbling backwards. The kid’s breaths had evened out, thankfully, and Tony watched as he slowly backed out of the elevator without ever breaking eye contact.

****

He steps out too, well aware of the child hanging off his arm in a silent plea to be lifted up. He doesn’t though, much to Peter’s chagrin. Tony simply grabs onto his tiny hand and leads him down the hall, his other hand gripping the back of Harley’s neck so he doesn’t end up running away like he kinda feared he would.

****

“Boss I’m sorry,” Harley forced out during their silent trek towards… somewhere. Harley knew very well that they weren’t headed in the direction of the man’s office.

****

Tony doesn’t offer a response further than the tightening of his hold on Harley’s neck and the teen swallows the bile in his throat. They pass a couple lingering guards and other soldiers, all watching as Tony stoically leads the two boys across the small floor,

****

It isn’t until they reach the door that Harley pauses, realizing where Tony had led them.

****

“I-I thought we weren’t allowed in here…” Harley trailed off in a whisper.

****

“You’re not unless I say you are.” Tony answered, releasing Harley so he could reach out and open the door. “But I knew you’d be coming down to see me after Bruce was finished with ya, and I had Happy hide away all the dangerous crap because I still need to get some work done in here,” he slowly trailed off and glanced down at Peter as he led the way into his workshop. ”I didn’t exactly baby-proof the place though… so maybe keep your hands to yourself in here Pete, yeah?”

****

Peter nodded fervently, whipping his head around to take in the sight of the room. It was like something you would see in the movies, and the last time Peter was in this particular room he just so happened to be too busy screaming bloody murder, so it hadn’t been the most opportune time to properly absorb the entirety of the room.

****

It didn’t take long for the kid to start bouncing, grasping Tony’s hand tightly with both his hands as he hopped around in excitement before eventually turning to fall against Tony with his hands held insistently upwards, still bouncing with that wide, boyish grin on his face.

****

Tony relented with a sigh and scooped the boy up. “C’mon Harley. We gotta talk.”

****

Harley flinched as if he had been struck. “Sir I’m sorry. I don’t know what came over me. I promise to never let it happen again.”

****

Tony looked at him over his shoulder as he made his way towards the small couch at the edge of the room. “You’re right. It better not happen again, but I need a full recap on what went on down there.”

****

Harley stared, unsure of the next step he was supposed to take.

****

“Come here,” Tony demanded sternly, gesturing towards the empty seat next to him. Harley is quick to comply, rushing forward to join the man on the couch and the situation felt oddly reminiscent to his morning with Pepper. 

****

“I’m sorry sir. Please don’t kick me out. I-I like it here.”

****

“Kid just quit it,” Tony grunted in annoyance, casting the boy an irritated glare. “I’m not gonna hurt you, I’m not gonna do anything to put you in danger. I’m not gonna kick you out. You’re safe here. I thought we already went over this a while ago.”

****

“Well-well um. Yes. But that was before I did somethin’ stupid and reckless… y’know… I thought that only applied when I didn’t deserve it…” he trailed off at the end, both his voice and head lowering in submission as he fumbled with his hands in his lap.

****

It didn’t take long before he was being chucked under the chin rather harshly and he looked up to meet the eyes of an angry Tony Stark… like,  _ very  _ angry.

****

“Don’t you dare,” Tony threatened… though the threat didn’t seem all that threatening with the way he was cradling Peter against him, rocking softly as he patted his butt rhythmically as if trying to put him to sleep. “You’re a  _ good  _ kid Harley, don’t you ever say that you  _ deserve  _ to be hurt just because you made a dumb mistake. Now tell me what happened down there before I start getting irritated, yeah?”

****

That’s when Peter decided to butt in. “Escuse me they be mean!” He huffed, pushing against Tony’s chest so he could look the man in the face. “They call Ha’ley a baby! An-an they make fun of his new Daddy!”

Tony’s face twisted dangerously and his gaze snapped away from Peter to settle on Harley. “They  _ what _ ?” 

****

“It wasn’t- It wasn’t- It wasn’t like that!” Harley insisted vehemently. “They were just bein-”

****

“Escuse me it was!” Peter argued petulantly, patting Tony’s cheek insistently to grab the man’s attention once more. When he had it, he settled the man with a serious glare. “It was. They be mean and call ‘im a baby. He’s a big kid dough.”

****

Harley got angry. “That’s not how “excuse me” works Peter!” He shouts. And Peter doesn’t hesitate to shout right back.

****

“Yes it is! PepPep say to say escuse me when I need ta say someting when ‘nother person talk. So I say escuse me!”

****

“That’s enough,” Tony insists with only a slight raise of the voice. He fixes both the boys with a stern glare. “Peter thank you for helping, but can you let Harley share what he has to say?”

****

Peter’s eyes narrow cutely in frustration and he falls against Tony once more, mimicking Harley from earlier and burrowing his face beneath Tony’s jacket. Tony looks over at Harley to urge him on.

****

“They were just- They were just teasing sir… I-I just got mad is all.”

****

Tony narrowed his eyes. “What were they saying Harley?”

****

Harley hesitated, mouth opening then closing again before he dropped his head and mumbled softly under his breath. He felt another chuck under his chin and he lifted his head back up.

****

“Look at me when I’m talking to you and stop mumbling. Tell me what they said about you and your father.”

****

Harley growled under his breath then huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. He couldn't  _ lie _ , because then when Tony found out what really happened, he'd probably be even more upset that he had lied straight to his face. “They were talking about you!” He retorted angrily.

****

“They were  _ what _ ?” Tony found himself at a loss for what to say in response to that.

****

“They were talking about you,” Harley repeated.

****

“Yes I heard that part,” Tony snapped impatiently, “but what do you mean they were talking about me?”

****

Harley found himself bowing his head again, but thought better of it and snapped his head back up to look at Tony. “They-they were just teasing, saying that-that you’re like… like me and Peter’s dad ‘cause you’re all nice to us and stuff… Just teasing.”

****

Tony was very confused at this point. “...and that made you angry?”

****

Harley stuttered awkwardly. “I mean- I mean… it was just the way they said it y’know. I was… I was already kinda worked up from this morning and I guess that just pushed me over the edge. It really wasn’t a big deal; I just overreacted. 

****

Tony stared at him, studying his face as if trying to determine if he were telling the truth.

****

“Okay fair enough… but when I get the reports in about exactly what went down, we’re gonna talk about this again. Alright?”

****

“Yes sir,” Harley answered.

****

“Quit with the sir crap.” Tony muttered, shifting Peter’s weight so he could stand from the couch.

****

“Well-well,” Harley fumbled, “o-okay Boss.”

****

“Just-” Tony drew in a sharp breath, face screwing into yet another irritated scowl. “Just… fine. Whatever. Now c’mon. I thought maybe you’d enjoy helping me with a little project of mine. Happy’s gettin’ sick and tired of replacing all your little tinkerin’ projects.” He gestured towards a table where the guts of some complicated machinery was spilled across it.

****

“Whoah,” Harley breathed as he inched closer. “Is this- is this-”

****

Before Harley could finish, Peter gasped loudly, little hands flying up to cover his mouth. “Escuse me It’s a robot!” He screech loudly, wiggling with such excitement Tony nearly dropped him.

  
Tony chuckled. “Looks like I got two little nerds on my hands. Wanna help us out too Pete?”

****

“Yes p’ease!” Peter grinned, bouncing exuberantly. 

****

Tony slid out two extra stools from other workstations then took a seat in the original one between the two. He patted the seat on his left for Harley to take, then reached over to place Peter on the one to his right.

****

“Don’t touch anything unless I say it’s okay. Or else I’ll have Happy come get you, understood?” He instructed Peter, grabbing the boy’s chin to guide his face to look directly at him as he spoke instead of the robot to make sure the boy was listening.

****

Peter nodded fervently and reached up to grasp Tony’s wrist. He looked up at the man with a big smile and his chin jutted out. “Kiss?” He asked with an innocent flutter of his eyelashes.

****

Tony pursed his lips in exasperated amusement and he rolled his eyes. “I’ve started something terrible haven’t I?”

****

Peter only grinned at him and Tony sighed once before leaning down to place a quick, awkward peck on his forehead. “There, now sit your ass down and stay still.”

 

* * *

****

Pepper seethes, sitting on the couch with the news playing on the TV. She couldn’t believe Tony didn’t say anything to her, and at that very moment she wanted to do nothing more than march downstairs and slap the man senseless for keeping such important information from her. She had literally missed two turn of the century events in the course of two weeks just because she was pregnant with a paranoid lunatic’s baby.

****

She watched the press conference of Steve Rogers announcement about Hydra’s infiltration into the NYPD, FBI, CIA, and NSA. She watched every possible news story that JARVIS would allow, anything pertaining to her husband’s arrest and court-ordered execution to Hydra’s infestation taking place across the entire globe. Her gut dropped further and further the longer she watched.

****

The world had descended into absolute chaos… Riots were breaking out among the people across the country. Protests were being held in every state to either execute Tony Stark, “the man behind the world’s madness”, and saving Tony Stark, “the only man capable of fixing what the world had deemed unfixable”.

****

After that… Pepper cried. She cried and cried before she sniffled, cursed and growled out angrily before flinging the remote across the room. She reached for her phone and dialed the first man that came to her mind.

****

“Thank god you’re alive,” she breathed out after he answered, “I need to ask a favor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... just a little background on this chapter...
> 
> This wasn't really part of the overall plan but when I was fixing to upload the next chapter I had written I realized that it left a lot of loose ends in the last chapter, so I decided to add two more chapters in between the last one and the one I had originally planned... so yeah that's why you guys had to wait so long, because I had to write this one from scratch sorry about that. It's probably gonna be the same for the next chapter too.
> 
> The next chapter is gonna have some more Pepperony background, and of course some more peter and tony development (I'm really getting into writing toddler peter. It's a heckuva lotta fun) So yeah. Stay tuned guys. I hope you have all enjoyed it so far and I'm sorry if it seems a bit rushed and thrown together, I just wanted to get something out soon. :)


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy this one. I added in a little bit of everything

_“Just give me five minutes with her and I’ll be able to tell you where she put the money. It’s really not as hard as your making it, Tony.” Rhodey bargained, bracing himself against Tony’s desk with both his hands. Tony peered up at him, unamused and frustrated._

_  
“I said no.”_

_“Tony,” Rhodey sighed in exasperation, “if you don’t stop acting sweet on her, we’re never going to find that money. 5 billion dollars Tony. 5 Billion! She stole 5 billion dollars from you and you won’t do anything about it just because you have a little crush on her. Just forget her. She’s a liar. You’ll never be able to trust her, and she’s obviously not interested. For God’s sake man, just let me take a crack at her and everything will be back to the way it was and you can forget about that bitch.”_

****

_Tony looked up at him again, a deep frown on his face. “I can get my money back myself, thank you very much.”_

****

_“Oh really?” Rhodey laughed. “What are you gonna do, ask nicely? That hasn’t worked so well this past month pal. You gotta start acting serious about this or she’s gonna keep strutting around like she owns the place. It’s becoming a problem Tones… the guys are starting to fall for her charms and if you don’t get a handle on her soon, she’s gonna end up compromising their loyalty.”_

****

_“I’m working on it,” Tony snarled, head bowing and body hunkering over his desk as he continues scribbling across some old blueprints._

****

_“Working on it? Really? C’mon man, you can’t let her get away with this. If it were any other woman that stole your money you would have pounded ‘em, got what you needed and thrown ‘em in a lake already. Admit it. She got in your head and now you’re smitten. She’s got you wrapped around her little finger. Snap out of it!”_

****

_“I’m not smitten,” Tony argued childishly._

****

_Rhodey raised his hands in a sarcastic surrender. “Excuse me, I’m sorry, I meant “you don’t want to chance not being able to bang her”.”_

****

_“Shut up,” Tony growled out._

****

_“I will if you can prove to me that you’ll do something about that missing money!”_

****

_“Fine! I will,” Tony retorted, standing from his desk and storming towards his office door. Rhodey follows closely behind him and they both enter the elevator waiting for them. Tony instructs JARVIS to take them to whatever floor Ms. Potts was on and they descend towards the Common Floor and Tony just hopes they don’t find her in a compromising position. His men knew not to lay a finger on her in any way, shape, or form… and it’s not because he was a jealous control freak.... He just knew that Ms. Potts was rather skilled with her hands, and he knew that most of the young men working for him wouldn’t stand a chance against her charms._

****

_“What’s your plan?” Rhodey teased. “Gonna ask her on a date and woo her into getting your money. That worked pretty well for her.” Rhodey laughed hysterically at his own joke._

****

_“No,” Tony growled out through bared teeth._

****

_“Well, whatcha gonna-”_

****

_“Just shut up Rhodes! I’ll figure it out.”_

****

_Rhodey grins cheekily and turns away from his best friend to focus on the elevator doors._

****

_JARVIS leads them across the floor to where Pepper was supposedly hiding out. Tony’s strides are long and purposeful while Rhodey lags behind in a relaxed demeanor with his hands in his pockets. Then, Tony spots her and he halts in his steps, blinking stupidly as his brain fumbles to process what he was seeing._

****

_She’s standing in a dark corner in the hall, leaning into a familiar man, and the sight of him and how close he is to Pepper has his blood pumping faster, his neck heating up, and his veins pulsating in anger. Phil Coulson stood there pressed up against a wall with a smug grin on his face while Pepper trailed a lone finger down his chin, neck, chest and towards the next button of his shirt that needed to be popped open._

****

_Rhodey’s eyebrows rose and he turned to gauge Tony’s reaction… which wasn’t a great one. And he should have known, because Tony Stark was never one to share his things. Especially not with a man like Phil Coulson, a loyal follower of Nick Fury and their stupid organization, a knockoff of Stark called Shield._

****

_Tony watched as Pepper leaned in closer to him, chest pressing up suggestively below his collarbone as she hooks a heeled foot around the back of his shin so she could whisper softly in his ear. He saw the ripples of a giggle travel down the length of her spine and he watched her hand settle softly on the arch of Coulson’s collarbone, nails scratching hard enough to leave a light, red trail against his pale skin. Her shirt was tight and low to show off her chest and her shorts were short… very short._

****

_She looked absolutely delicious and Tony had the sudden urge to forget the whole gentlemen act and seduce her with skilled, well placed kisses and featherlight touches until she finally gives into what he wants. But, Coulson’s there, holding onto her, enjoying the attention that should be focused on him and only him. He’s touching her, and she’s touching him, and he felt the rage roaring in his ears bud into something that pumps his blood even faster. He’s only felt jealousy a couple short times in his life, because he always got what he wanted in the end. Always. So, controlling his passionate drive of lustful jealousy was new territory, and he did his best to remain calm. There was no need for an outburst, because losing control meant losing face and he couldn’t do that here._

****

_Then she bit Coulson’s ear gently with a sultry smirk, because she knew exactly what she was doing, and Coulson shivered noticeably, slowly sliding his hands from the small of her back into the back pockets of her shorts… and he squeezed._

****

_That’s when Tony lost it._

****

_“Hey!” He shouted, voice wavering with a flaming anger. “What the hell do you think you’re doing to her?”_

****

_It only took a couple strides for Tony to reach the pair, which didn’t leave much time for Coulson to remove his hand or for Pepper to pull away. So instead, Tony growled deep in his throat and grabbed onto Pepper’s wrist roughly, tugging her out of Coulson’s grip before spinning back to sock the man right in the jaw._

****

_“Tony!” Pepper shouted angrily, pulling her wrist from his grip with a forceful tug before he could land another damaging hit on Coulson._

****

_Tony turned, this time his anger focused solely on her as he stepped into her personal space. She backed up a pace and glared right back at him with a firm crease between her brows that Tony desperately wanted to kiss. She looked angry, but Tony still took a step to match her, ignoring her anger, putting them nearly chest to chest. “You think I’d be okay with you sucking the face of another man?” His voice was low and gravelly as he bit down on the urge to shout._

****

_Pepper shoved him, scowling at him before pointing an accusatory finger into his chest. “You don’t own me Stark! I can do exactly as I please without worrying about what would or wouldn’t be pleasurable to you.”_

****

_Tony chuckled darkly and Pepper could see his eyes darken in the dim lighting. “That’s where you’re wrong Potts. I do own you.” He took another large step and this time reached out to wrap a strong arm around her waist, pulling her even closer. “You stole a hefty amount of my money. As far as I’m concerned,” he leaned in closely to whisper into her ear, “until I get my money back, I feel that I’m entitled to a great deal of compensation… I’ve tried to be nice, but I’m getting rather impatient and I’m ready to start collecting.”_

****

_Pepper scowled in disgust, hands braced on his chest to try and push him away. Tony pinned her arms down, wearing a wide, teasing smile. “Eh-eh-eh. Stop struggling Potts. You’re in my debt, so you do as I say.” Pepper, of course, being the fierce, independent woman she was, continues to fight against him. So, Tony rolls his eyes and turns to Rhodey._

****

_“Hey Rhodes, get this Shield bastard outta here. Make sure he learns his lesson about keeping his hands to himself.” Then he turns to Coulson. “Spread the word Coulson, Ms. Potts belongs to me.”_

****

_“You disgusting bastard,” Pepper shouted in his face, fighting against Tony’s strong grip. Tony ignored her and waited for Rhodey to herd a frustrated Phil Coulson out of the dimly lit hall. Tony turns back towards Pepper._

****

_“Honey please,” he sighs in exasperation, “don’t make this any more difficult than it has to be.”_

****

_“Screw you Stark,” she spits._

****

_He grins, one hand trailing down her back to rest right above the curve of her ass. He taps his fingers on the sliver of exposed skin right above the waistband of her shorts.  “That’s the plan Sweetheart.”_

****

_“Oh please,” she rolls her eyes at the stupid innuendo. “Only in your dreams,” she retorts. Her glare is hard and malicious, and she finally stops squirming against him, which was just a tiny bit disappointing. It felt good feeling her move against him so frantically._

****

_“Ohh,” Tony sighs, pulling her even closer so she can feel his growing excitement, “you’ve been the leading lady of my dreams for quite some time now Potts. After tonight,” he licks his lips, “I have a feeling I’ll be recurring in yours as well.”_

****

_“Bite me,” she snaps angrily at him, urging him on in one last attempt to break free._

****

_“As you wish, Buttercup.” Both his hands slide down slowly to graze over the pockets of her jeans, giving her the perfect moment to jerk out of the strong arms trapping her against him. She broke free and started to run._

****

_“Oh-ho-ho,” Tony chuckles with a lilt of excitement in his tone, “not so fast.” It only takes a couple long strides before he has a grip on her arm once more and he’s spinning her back into his arms. She stiffens._

****

_“I have no desire to sleep with you Tony Stark. So if you really were to do what your threatening to, you’d be grazing at the top of your no-no list. I know you Stark. You won’t do it. Now, leave me alone.” She pushes against his arms._

****

_Tony’s nostrils flare angrily. “I don’t think I’d be as opposed to it when you very much deserve it Ms. Potts. You stole 5 billion dollars sweetheart, any other person and I would have killed you already. Think of this as mercy.”_

****

_“I’m calling your bluff Tony Stark,” She challenged. “You haven’t laid a hand on me until now… and you still need to know where I hid your money. You won’t kill me until I tell you what you need, and for some reason you won’t torture me for it, so I doubt your bold enough to actually defile me.”_

****

_Tony grits his teeth. “Well, how do you suppose we take care of this then.”_

****

_She looked him straight in the eye with an easy smile on her face. “Let me go and leave me alone.”_

****

_“If you want me to let you go then give me my money.” He snapped, gripping her arms a little tighter. He was edging between the line of peevish and pissed off, and Pepper’s outright refusal to do as he says was only making him all the more irritated._

****

_“I’m not just going to hand over 5 billion dollars Mr. Stark.”_

****

_“Well,” Tony retorts with a twitch of his nose, “I’m not just going to let you take it either Ms. Potts. So we’ve reached a bit of a dilemma.”_

****

_They stand there for a moment, glaring, sizing each other up, until Tony breaks the silence with a husky voice._

****

_“How about this Potts? One night. One night of tender, mind-numbing passion, and I’ll let you leave with a fourth.”_

****

_“Three-fourths,” she argues._

****

_“Half. Final offer.” His heart stutters and begins beating faster in anticipation as he watches her contemplate his offer. “Then, when it’s all over, I’ll let you decide whether you really want to stay or leave… of course… I’ll need your skills for a couple projects of mine in the future so you can continue to pay off your debt if you do decide to leave.”_

****

_“I don’t believe you for a moment Stark,” Pepper smiles knowingly. “You’ll never let me walk out of this building alive.”_

****

_He grins impishly. “You caught me.”_

****

_She smiles suggestively, leaning into him so she can wrap her arms around his neck. “How about this?” she whispers into his ear. “We have one night of fun… and you give me a job. I know you can use my skills around here Stark. This place needs a bit of a woman’s touch.”_

****

_His eyebrows lower lustfully. “Just one night?”_

****

_She purses her lips and raises her eyebrows, toying with the ends of his hair curling at the nape of his neck. “How ‘bout we see how good you are first Mr. Stark.”_

****

_Tony growls playfully and leans down to capture her lips in a passionate kiss. “I’m about to rock your world Ms. Potts.”_

****

***

****

“Phil I need to ask a favor.” Pepper begins, already pacing back and forth in front of the couch while the morning news continues playing in the background.

****

“Pepper? What’s wrong?” Phil’s voice sounds muffled over the phone and Pepper frowns.

****

“It’s Tony.”

****

“What’d he do this time?”

****

“It’s what he didn’t do,” Pepper snapped in annoyance, throwing her head back to groan. “He didn’t tell me about Ross’ kill order on him… they can’t do that! If he would have just told me I could have had this problem fixed in an instant, but no. He just has to be a stubborn, paranoid _man_ , and I’m left with a huge mess to clean up.”

****

“Pepper,” Phil began, “don’t take this the wrong way, but… have you been living under a rock? This whole thing has literally created an absolute uproar. Human rights, Justice, World domination, the works. How are you just finding out about it now?”

****

“First of all,” Pepper retorted, a hand landing on her hip, “why am I just finding out now that you’ve been alive all this time?”

****

“Okay, that’s not fair. You’re married to the man that tried to kill me. Why would I tell you I’m alive? I don’t need your crazy husband hunting me down again… now answer my first question please. What in the world had you so busy this past month that you didn’t know about the court ordered trial on your husband?”

****

“Kill order,” Pepper corrected. 

****

“No, not quite. This whole thing has just been blown out of proportion. It’s a trial, but during the press conference, Ross was being an idiot again and admitted that they had enough on Tony to execute him if he were to be found guilty in court. The rest of the world are the ones making a big deal of it… but as long as Tony just stays under the radar like I told Rogers to tell him, then it should blow over within the year once I get things settled over here and take care of Hydra. He doesn’t go to trial unless someone working directly for the government finds him.”

****

“Oh gosh,” Pepper groans, sitting down on the couch and cradling her head in her hand. “This Hydra thing is such a mess… Are you really going to be able to take care of it on your own?”

****

There was a short pause on the other line. 

****

“I’m afraid not. Hydra runs deeper than what we originally thought. They’re literally everywhere Pepper. They’re like-They’re like-like mosquitos.”

****

“Mosquitos? That’s the best you can come up with?” Pepper deadpans with a shake of her head.

****

“Whatever,” Phil grumbled, “but I’m working on it. I’ve tried getting in touch with Tony in hopes of reconciling so we can work together… I don’t have very many reliable men left and well- Tony’s one of the few people I feel I can trust right now.”

****

Pepper nods to herself. “Is he screening your calls?”

****

“Yep. Just like the good ol’ days.”

****

Pepper laughed. “Well, to be fair… you were with Shield. But I think there might be a way to fix both our problems.”

****

“What’s this bright idea of yours Ms. Potts?”

****

Pepper laughs. “Well, you know that kid on the news? Richard Parker’s son. The famous scientist.”

****

“Yeah. We’ve been looking for him. What about him?”

****

Pepper hesitates. “We have him and he’s fine,” she quickly reassures him to avoid any unfavorable assumptions. “Natasha grabbed him on a recent visit to Oscorp and Tony found out Richard was abusing him… so we kept him. He’s perfectly content here with us, so don’t worry.”

****

“Oh I’m not worried… I hate Richard Parker. Terrible man. Always hated him, but he did a lot of work for Shield so… y’know... Tony’s handling having a kid around pretty well I presume?”

****

“Yes, he’s getting there. It’s just a little hard considering he’s… a Parker. But-um Tony seems to think there’s a correlation between Oscorp and Hydra. He’s been looking for Richard quite religiously from what I’ve heard… but the man’s smart and he went into hiding before Tony could get his hands on him.”

****

There’s no answer so Pepper takes that as a sign to continue. “I know that you probably know better than anybody where to find him.”

“And what? Kill him? We’ll need to get as much information out of him before-”

****

“No, don’t kill him… just-just find him. Bring him to Tony and then I’ll take care of the rest. ”

****

 

***

****

Two Days Later...

****

Tony rubs his forehead as he works through the paperwork piled on his desk. Sometimes the work between being both the leader of a not-so-secret mafia/mob (both seem a bit too informal for what he does) organization and the CEO of a multibillion dollar company used to cover up that not-so-secret mafia organization is quite a bit. Usually he’s able to push a lot of the work onto Pepper or Rhodey… but Rhodey’s in Europe taking care of some things in Italy, and well, Pepper’s kinda sorta on probation. So, that just leaves him to mull over the mind-numbing paperwork.

****

He’s most definitely not a businessman, never has been and never will be. He’s not good at that kind of stuff; playing by all the little rules to keep everything legal and everyone happy. No thanks. Pepper takes care of everything like that… she’s good with money, she’s good with people, and she’s good with bending the rules in a way that no one has ever thought of before. Stark Industries is her baby, she’s made it into the fortune-500 it is today. It’s so much more sophisticated, professional, and realistic than what his father, Howard, had created way back when to legitimize the weapon-sales contract between him and the government. Though they have been struggling the past few months after he cut out all weapons sales towards the government and other under the table buyers. And before the whole pregnancy scare, Pepper had been building a new team of Engineers for their new and improved R&D Department, most of whom are working for him already in the not so legal sense… They still had so much work to do if they wanted SI up and running again before things go to hell on his end.

****

He groans in exasperation and cocks his head to the side to look at the television screen hung on the wall. He watches for a couple moments as the news lady’s mouth opens and closes without any sound, her face screwed down in a serious frown. Then a familiar picture pops up in the corner of the screen and it grabs his attention.

****

“Unmute JARVIS.”

****

At his instruction, the office is filled with the low tone of the anchorwoman as she goes on to explain the recent report of a missing Richard Parker.

****

**_“-ard Parker, leading scientist and researcher in genetic mutation, was declared missing earlier this morning after his home was found ransacked by his partner Norman Osborn. The police speculate it may be correlated with the missing child report of Peter Parker, Richard Parker’s son, that had been filed two weeks ago. He had reported that the man who had taken his son requested no ransom, and was instead invested in his life’s research and work. It would not be outlandish to assume that Mr. Parker has simply given up on finding his son and has fled the country before whoever took his son decides to take him to get what they want, but Norman Osborn and President Ross, who had partnered with Oscorp plenty of times in the past, both insist to take every precaution because of the unannounced breakthrough they claim Richard had almost completed-”_ **

****

“Mute!” Tony scowls, slamming his fist on the table in frustration. He knew he should have sent Romanoff out for him earlier than he did. Now he’d have to wait even longer and that PISSED him off.

****

His silent brooding was interrupted by a loud knock on his office door.

****

“Mr. Hogan requests entry sir.”

****

Tony grumbles under his breath and waves a disgruntled hand in the air. “Come in!”

****

The large door opens quickly and Tony props his chin on his palm and watches in mild amusement as an angry Happy drags an irritated Harley into the room by the scruff of his neck.

****

Tony refrains from rolling his eyes, because this is quite possibly the fourth time in the past two days that he’s been subjected to one of Happy’s angered rants regarding the teen. 

****

“What’s he done this time Hap?”

****

Happy stops when he’s within a few feet from Tony’s desk and scowls down at Harley still struggling fruitlessly to break free from his grip.

****

“Let go of me you asswipe!” Harley growled out, aiming a shove at Happy’s side, but it didn’t work. Happy was a rock and Harley was still a stick, though his tenacity seemed to say otherwise.

****

Tony raised his eyebrows in surprise, but Happy’s face remained neutral as he readjusted his grip so he had a fist of the back of Harley’s shirt in his hand. “He was in the gym messin’ with the weapons. The guns specifically.”

****

“You were _what_?” Tony growled, attention snapping over to focus on Harley with a glare. Harley met his eyes with a glare of his own and a snarl Tony hadn’t heard from him since the day they’d met. “You heard him.” The kid spat before wrestling with Happy’s grip once more.

****

“You don’t get to talk to me like that Keener.” Tony warned, standing abruptly from his chair to brace his body with both arms on his desk, looming over him. 

****

“Or what?” Harley crowed, “You gonna hit me? Do it. I dare you!” He throws himself against Happy’s grip, as if lunging towards Tony to attack him, but Happy holds him back with a more than uncomfortable grip around the back of his neck.

****

Tony felt his face begin to redden from the restraint to lash out. It’d been a long time since he’d been shown such disrespect… and this was the only instance where he wouldn’t allow himself to do anything about it. At least not the conventional way.

****

“Now you see what I’m talking about,” Happy grumbled, releasing the snarling child with a light shove towards Tony’s desk. “He’s brat when you’re not around.”

****

“No!” Harley snarled, turning back around to spit out angered words at him, “you’re just an annoying prick!”

****

Tony didn’t really know how to handle the sudden mood swing. All he knows is that he was pissed before the kid came trotting in with a bad attitude, and now he’s more pissed having to deal with it. “Out Happy. I need to have a word with Keener alone.” Tony felt a tiny seedling of triumph sprout when he saw the kid’s face fall into a worried frown before returning to the aggressive snarl.

****

Happy eagerly left the room, leaving Harley in front of his desk with his arms crossed over his chest and his head lowered to glare at his shoes. Tony’s nostrils flared once in anger, but he took in a couple deep breaths to cool down and he sat back down in his office chair. He didn’t need to yell and that’s probably what he’d end up doing if he spoke while still angry.

****

“Do you wanna tell me what’s going on with you?”

****

“Nothing’s going on,” Harley grumbled with his head still lowered.

****

“Look at me when I’m speaking to you.” Gosh. Tony feels like he’s said that particular phrase a thousand times in regards to this kid. Harley doesn’t raise his head though. He remains stubbornly still, but Tony can see the redness in his cheeks, and he can see his shoulders quaking.

****

“Hey!” Tony tries again, raising his voice and narrowing his eyes. “Don’t ignore me-”

****

“Or what?” Harley asked for a second time, finally lifting his head to look Tony dead in the eye. “What. Are. You. Gonna. Do?!”

****

Tony frowned and he felt his breathing pick up significantly. He couldn’t understand why Harley was challenging his authority. He was a good kid, and he always did what he was told. He didn’t understand.

****

“What are you gonna do about it, you pussy?!” Harley shouted, stomping his foot emphatically.

****

The rage boiled over quickly and Tony found himself vaulting from his chair and rounding the desk to come toe to toe with Harley. He didn’t touch… he didn’t dare touch him. Not while his judgement was clouded from the stress and frustration. And the fact that Harley was glaring up at him with that defiant frown only fueled his instinct to instill fear. 

****

“Try that again, _kid_ ,” he spat out the word like it were a testament to his disgust and anger.

****

“I said…” Harley paused for emphasis, “what are you gonna do about it, you pu-” 

****

Before he could finish the sentence Tony grabbed his chin roughly and squeezed. He forcefully angled the kid’s head down, but maintained eye contact and lowered his head as well to whisper. “Listen to me loud and clear kid,” Tony growled through gritted teeth. “I don’t know what the hell has gotten into you, but it needs to stop. Right here, right now. Understand?” He could feel the minute vibration of Harley’s chin quivering, but the kid held his ground.

****

“Or-or you’re gonna hurt me? Hit me.” He eggs him on again, biting down hard on his bottom lip.

****

That’s when it strikes him, and Tony’s able to understand what’s going on in that kid’s head. He could remember challenging his father as a young boy, trying to establish where the line stood between a few threats and a hard beating… it didn’t take much effort to figure it out.  

****

So, his aggressive scowl devolves into a frustrated frown. He drops his hand from Harley’s chin and lifts it to rest on his head. The movement is fast enough to trigger Harley’s old habits, and the boy is jolting away from the touch as if he were about to be struck. Tony doesn’t back down though and he rests his hand on Harley’s head, thumb pressed into his forehead.

****

“Buddy, please look at me.”

****

Harley looks up at him, face devoid of any anger or resentment from earlier, but he remains stoic and neutral.

****

“Are you trying to test me? See how much pushing it takes for me to smack you?”

****

The kid doesn’t say anything, but Tony _knows_. He can tell just by the look on his face.

****

“I told you I wouldn’t hurt you. Is that what this is about? Did you not believe me? C’mon kid, we just had this talk two days ago.” His hand dropped to Harley’s shoulder, but Harley shrugged it off and stepped away.

****

Tony rolled his eyes at the dramatics and waited silently for Harley to speak up.

****

“Fine,” the kid finally mumbled, “I get that you don’t wanna hurt me ‘cause of your dad and stuff, but... just-I just… I can handle being smacked around a little, y’know. I’m not a little kid, I can handle stuff like that. You don’t have to be so careful around me…”

****

“So… what I’m getting is you want to be treated like the other guys?”

****

Harley looked up at him and smiled. “Yeah… I-It makes me look like a baby when no one’s allowed to lay a hand on me because you’re scared it might break me or somethin’.”

****

“You’re a kid,” Tony reasoned with him slowly, arms crossing over his chest, “which means you need to be protected. So I’m protecting you and you need to deal with that.”

****

“I’m not a kid. I-”

****

“Yes you are,” Tony insisted sharply. 

****

“You don’t have to treat me with kid gloves like you do Peter. I get that you feel responsible for me and everything but that doesn’t mean I can’t handle myself! You won’t even let me go outside by myself to see my friends. I can’t go anywhere without a babysitter following me! And I’m not even allowed to touch the weapons in the gym! I’m not stupid Boss! You don’t have to treat me like I’m your breakable little bastard son!”

****

Tony sighed and threw his head back. “Is that what this is about? Because I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be objecting to the special treatment if it wasn’t for those idiots. They were out of line and it won’t happen again kid. Nobody really thinks that about you, alright? It’s only been a few weeks, it’s normal to have to be chaperoned when you used to be loyal to a rival, alright? And I’ll stop being nice to you if that’s what you want.”

****

Harley nodded solemnly, face twitching slightly. “Thankyou.”

****

“You’re welcome…” Tony paused then took a menacing step towards him. “Now tell me what the hell you were doing messing with those weapons when you were explicitly told not to _touch_ them.”

****

“What? I-uh.”

****

“I don’t want to hear any excuses!” Tony snapped, jabbing a finger into his chest, sending him stumbling backwards. “I’m sick and tired of your recklessness, you hear me? You’re privileged that I even let you set foot in this building! If I hear one more complaint from Happy, I won’t hesitate to send you to a solitary floor where you can’t cause any more trouble.” Harley’s eyes are wide as he stares up at Tony in surprise. “You keep saying you wanna go out and help, but until you can prove that you’re not a whiny, reckless child that can’t follow the simplest of orders then you have no business being out there in the streets! You hear me?!

  
Tony moves away, spinning on his heel. He reaches over his desk and grabs a large pile of papers. “So, for your insubordination I want you to group, transcript, scan, and file all of these documents, color coded by date and department. I want it on my desk by midnight tonight, do I make myself clear?”

****

“Uh, yes’sir.” Harley nods a bit too quickly. “But how-”

****

“Good, now sit your ass down where I can see you and get to work.”

****

Tony chuckles under his breath as he watches Harley scurry to the table at the corner of the room to get to work. Tony sat back down, shook his head in amusement and got back to his own work.

****

He didn’t last another ten minutes before he heard the familiar pitter-patter of tiny feet bolting down the hall outside his office. Then the muffled chants of “Tony, Tony, Tony” right outside his door and he found himself smiling slightly as he quickly scrawled his messy signature across another page. He still couldn’t understand Peter’s obsession with him.

****

“Alright, let’s go see Tony,” He heard Pepper’s voice say through a tired sigh while his office door was slowly opening. It barely opened a crack before Peter was wedging himself into the room and clambering towards Tony’s desk with a wide grin on his face. “Tony!”

****

“Hey Bug, what’s up?” He put down his pen and leaned his forearms against his desk. Peter’s tiny head peeked over the side, using his little hands gripping edge to pull himself up onto his tippy toes so he could see the man’s face. 

****

“I misst you!” He declared with a loud giggle.

****

Tony gasped dramatically. “How can you miss me already? I just saw you this morning.”

****

Peter giggled again and released his grip on his desk to spin around and barrel back towards Pepper who was slowly making herself towards the desk as well with a small book in her hand. The boy collided into her legs and nuzzled his face against the side of her thigh like he was trying to hide.

****

“Hey Hon,” Tony stood to greet her, but her attention was aimed towards Harley hunched over a pile of papers in the corner. She turned back to look at him and frowned. 

****

“What’s Harley doing over there?” She questioned, reaching down to rest a hand on Peter’s head to calm his hyper bouncing.

****

“Did something stupid this morning, so I stuck him with some meaningless busy work…” Tony cracked a smile as he looked over at the kid. “He said he didn’t want me to be nice to him anymore, so…”

****

Pepper gave him a look so he retreated back a step and raised his hands defensively. 

****

“Hey it was his request. I’m only respecting his wishes.”

****

Pepper’s frown didn’t falter, instead she held out the thin book towards him. He looked at the cover and raised his eyebrows. He takes it from her slowly.

****

“Peter refuses to go down for a nap,” she rubs her temple with a sigh and Tony glances down at the vibrating child at her side. He didn’t seem like much of a troublemaker in the moment, but he could understand the problem with the whole “nap” thing. 

****

“Okay?” He drawls, “what do you want me to do about it?”

****

Pepper shot him a menacing look, but that didn’t help clear the air on what she was wanting him to do.

****

“PepPep said ‘ou migh’ read me a sto’y if I p’omise to s’eep.”

****

“Oh,” Tony nods sagely, “I see.” He averts his eyes just for a moment towards his wife and he gulped… she didn’t look happy and Tony knew instantly that it was one of _those_ days.

****

“I’d really love to Peter, but I have a lot of work to do. Maybe Harley could read to you.” He held out the book towards the boy, but Peter’s happy-go-lucky face screwed down into an irritated scowl. 

****

“No!” He demanded with a stomp of his foot. Tony raised his brows at the outburst. 

  
“No?”

****

“No,” Peter insisted again. “I wan’ ‘ou to read me a sto’y.”

****

Tony blinked. Since when did he start getting bossed around by four-year-olds? It knocked him back a bit into thinking about his interaction with Harley moments earlier. Since when did he have to deal with sassy kids in general?

****

“Peter,” Pepper snapped sternly, appearing to be on the verge of an angry outburst, but she skillfully held herself back. Peter had probably tested her patience one too many times already that day. “That wasn’t very nice. Why don’t you try that again?”

****

Peter’s scowl disappeared and was replaced with an apologetic pout as he looked up at Pepper with wide eyes before turning back to Tony with a quivering lip. “I sorry Tony.” He hung his head and crossed his little arms over his chest. “Can ‘ou-Can ‘ou _p’ease_ read ‘o me?”

****

Tony still didn’t respond right away. A crease formed between his brows as he contemplated the request… he really needed to get some work done… but it shouldn’t take that long to read a children’s book, right? That’s when Pepper interrupted his thought process.

****

“Is it SI paperwork?” Her annoyance seemed to have mellowed somewhat at the prospect of paperwork. That’s when Tony was reminded once more that his wife was crazy, because no sane person would be honest to goodness excited by the concept of paperwork. Then again, she rounded him out perfectly in every way.

****

“Yes it is,” he responded, slowly trying to determine if it would be a good idea to push all the heavy work onto his pregnant wife who was _supposed_ to be staying away from work. Pepper seemed to know exactly what he was thinking and she narrowed her eyes at him.

****

Tony swallowed and pushed the colorful book he was holding into Peter’s hands. “Why don’t you go get settled on the couch. I’ll come join you soon.” Peter happily obliged and scurried over towards the couch against the wall. Tony turned to look back at his wife with a stern frown. 

****

“I can tell you aren’t feeling good. Are you sure you want to do paperwork of all things?”

****

Pepper sighed and stepped into him to wrap her arms around his torso and lay her head on his shoulder. “I’m fine Tony,” she mumbled as Tony wrapped his arms around her as well and rested his cheek against the side of her head. “I’m just getting a little stir crazy. I’m not doing anything productive and that’s more stressful than anything else, especially after I found out about you know what.” Her tone dropped into that familiar irritated _‘I’m never letting this go’_ type way.

****

Tony sighed and rubbed her back, because he knew what “ _what”_ was. He knew what the “ _what_ ” was going to be the morning he removed JARVIS restrictions for the news. That same afternoon Pepper had cornered him with a strange flicker in her eyes, and he didn’t realize it was anger until too late, though he really should have known. He got a long lecture that night about secrets and many of his recent behaviors that had been lovingly dubbed as idiotic and ridiculous. He didn’t tell her more than what was strictly necessary for her to know of course, but the fact that she knew anything at all lifted a heavy weight off his chest, because now he didn’t have to worry about hiding it from her.

****

“Alright fair enough,” he sighed. She let go of him and waddled her way around his desk to take a seat in his office chair with a smile.

****

“Harley, Honey,” she called from her seat. The boy looked up from his papers to acknowledge her and Pepper smiled sweetly at him. “Why don’t you come over and keep me company. Bring the work Tony gave you.”

****

Harley looked apprehensive. His grip tightened around the pencil he was holding and he cast a nervous glance towards Tony for his approval. Tony huffed an amused sigh and nodded. Harley responded with a tiny smile and a leap into action as he gathered the papers around him.

  
“Toooonnny!” Peter called out impatiently from the couch, smacking the hard cover a couple times with the palm of his hand.

****

“I’m coming, I’m coming,” Tony called back with a roll of his eyes. Peter watched him closely as he walked over to make sure he didn’t wander off and get distracted by something else. Tony took a seat beside a few good inches away from him, but Peter just scooted closer to close the distance and thrusted the book into his hands.

****

Tony fumbled for just a moment before fixing the book upright in both his hands so he could get a real look at it.”Hop on Pop?”

****

“Yep!” Peter grinned. He grabbed onto Tony’s elbow and made an effort to lift it up and away from his side. Tony eyed him suspiciously with a small hint of amusement as he struggled to lift the man’s heavy arm in the air.

****

“Whatcha doin’ there kid?” He questioned affectionately as Peter attempted to wedge his head into the small space he had made between Tony’s arm and side. Peter doesn’t respond to him. He’s too focused on his task, so Tony lifts his arm slightly to assist him in his efforts.

****

Peter tucks himself beneath his arm then starts wiggling around in the tiny space he’d trapped himself in between Tony’s arm and side so he could reach around to tug at Tony’s suit jacket, straining to pull the fabric out as far as he could. Tony just watched and made no effort to stop him as the kid wrapped the jacket flap around himself and relaxed against Tony’s side.

****

“You good now?” Tony chuckled.

  
Peter nodded and draped an arm over Tony’s abdomen to snuggle closer.

****

“Alright,” Tony said, clearing his throat and kicking his feet up onto the coffee table in front of them. “Now that we’re all settled, let’s get started. Ahem.” He flips open to the first page and looks at it for a moment and frowns. He grabs onto the next page and flips back and forth between the two as if trying to figure out some sort of puzzle. “What in the world? There’s only like three words a page. What kind of book is this?” He voices his annoyance with a frustrated growl.

****

“A children’s book.” Pepper answered from the desk without ever tearing her eyes away from the papers in front of her.

****

Tony scoffed and angrily flipped his way back to the beginning. Peter patted him softly on the stomach as if he were trying to reassure him and Tony’s brows furrowed.

****

“Shhh,” Peter hushed with another couple pats. “Read.”

****

“Fine,” Tony huffs. He rushes through the first page and moves to flip to the next, but Peter quickly reaches out to grab his hand.

****

“Not like that,” he whines, craning his head to look up at him. “Read it like PepPep and ‘appy.”

****

_Happy read this book to Peter? And Peter enjoyed it? Ah, hell no. He could do way better than Happy._

****

And he did. He enunciated each of the words slowly and allowed a maximum of 5 seconds for Peter to look at the pictures before they moved on. Peter didn’t interrupt once, completely entranced by the ridiculous story as Tony read. The book didn’t seem to have a plot, but he supposed that wasn’t the point… it was probably just used to teach kids to read, because there was a _lot_ of rhyming. A lot.

****

After a while, Tony started feeling warm and relaxed as he droned on in a soft voice, reading a children’s book. It was a nice breath of fresh air to just read a pointless book with pointless words and silly pictures with funny looking creatures. He hated to admit it, but he found it somewhat enjoyable. 

****

He felt the warm weight of Peter’s arm across his stomach, and he could hear the couple times Peter yawned loudly before nuzzling his face against his side before turning back to look at the story with lazy blinks. It made Tony feel like a normal person for the first time in his life. Just a Dad reading a silly book to his son… but Peter wasn’t his son, he was just using that idea as a metaphor… all he knew was that he'd never felt so at ease, sitting there with a tiny person tucked under his arm and a book propped up against his legs. So, maybe that’s why he was just a little bit peeved when he felt his cell phone vibrating in his pocket, interrupting the story. It was probably important because there was just so much going on right now and he couldn't risk missing out on information that could mean life or death… so he bent at an awkward angle so he could fish it from his pants pocket already tense and frustrated at the prospect of losing the relaxing headspace he’d found while reading to Peter. He took one glance at the screen and frowned… It wasn’t Romanoff, or Hogan, or Rhodey and he wasn’t in the mood.

****

“Harley,” he called out, patting Peter reassuringly on the leg in a promise that they would continue shortly.

****

Harley scurried towards them and Tony held out his phone to him. “Talk to Rogers will ya. Tell him I’m busy and ask what he wants.” He adjusts himself on the couch so he’s angled closer to Peter, hip digging into the cushion, and he returns to reading. “No Pat no,” he croons dramatically, “Don’t sit on that.” He flips to the next page and Harley answers the phone.

****

“Hello?” He answers without any waver in his voice as he speaks. Tony only smiles slightly in pride. 

****

“Sad Dad Bad Had,” Tony continues, “Dad is sad.”

****

“Yeah, no. It’s Harley… Tony’s busy right now. What d’ya want?”

****

“Very, very sad. He had a bad day. What a day Dad had.”

****

Harley scoffs then growls into the phone. “I just told you he’s busy. He told me to talk to you.”

****

Tony turns for a moment to look at the kid as Harley holds out the phone towards him. “Nope,” he shakes his head, leaning away, “the kiddo’s just about to fall asleep. If I start talking the conversation’s never gonna end.” He turns back to the book. “Thing Thing. What is that Thing?”

  
“He said he doesn’t want to talk to you ‘cause you always end up talkin’ too much... “ Tony snorts at Harley’s choice of words. “I told you he’s busy. He’s reading to Peter… yeah. He can’t talk ‘cause he’s almost got him to fall asleep-”

****

“Escuse me, M’not,” Peter protests with a big yawn, leaning forward to fix Harley with a glare.

****

Tony pulls him back down and hushes him, tucking him in closer again. The sooner he could get Peter to sleep the sooner he could get back to work, which was exactly what he would rather be doing, right? Right. “Song, Long. A long, long, song.”

****

“Thankyou,” Harley groans, “see was that so hard?” He hangs up the phone and passes it back to Tony with a frown. “That dude’s annoying.”

****

“Don’t I know it,” Tony hums softly without breaking his gaze from the book. “What did he want?”

****

“He wanted me to tell you that Barnes accepted the job into Ross’ secret service and he’ll set up communications as soon as he’s secure.”

****

“Awesome. Thanks kid.” He smiles and Harley walks away. “Good-by Thing. You sing too long.”

****

Peter listens attentively through the whole story, and at some point Tony found himself somewhat invested in it too. So, he guesses it was understandable that he was a little disappointed when he reached the last page of the book… and Peter was still awake. He was almost sure the kid would’ve passed out at some point during the story.

****

Peter yawned again, reaching out with grabby hands towards the book when Tony started shifting to set it somewhere.

****

“Again?” He whispered softly. “P’ease.”

****

And because Tony was a softy now, and not because he actually kinda liked the book, he relented and pulled the book back to prop it against his legs like he had earlier. He flipped it back over to the cover and bit down on a smile before he started reading once more.

****

“Hop on Pop,” he read. “By Dr. Seuss.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope y'all enjoyed it!! Next chapter we get into a little more fun stuff *evil smirk*…
> 
> anyway... I'm trying to write future chapters and I'd like a little feedback if you could spare some time. What do ya think? Which relationships would you like to be expanded upon? Harley x Tony, Peter x Tony, Peter x Pepper, Peter x Harley (there'll be more of this coming soon anyway) Rhodey x someone... Happy, Natasha, Phil, maybe Sam or Steve? Let me know. I love all of them and I'm having trouble deciding who to focus on... I've already got the plot and stuff I just need to focus on characterization which is the actual hard part ugh! Anyway, just let me know.
> 
> Thx guys! I love you all so so so much for your support. I love hearing from each one of you, it always makes me smile. Thank you for reading :) Have a fantabulous Friday (or whatever day you might be reading this)


	15. Chapter 15

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one is a little dark... so be warned.

Tony adjusts his knee with a little bounce, humming under his breath dramatically as his eyes scanned across the line of printed letters along his desk. A tiny smile crept up at the corners of his mouth and he bounced his knee once more just to hear the soft, almost indiscernible, giggle that emitted from the munchkin residing there.

****

“Hmm, Alright,” he paused, neck craning to the side to glance at the young boy in his lap. A few tufts of his curly hair tickled the underside of his chin as he did so and he smiled, eyes relaxed and lips stretched to show the prominent wrinkles developing on his cheeks. His gaze turned back to the paper on his desk and he dropped his pointer finger lands on the letter ‘P’. “What is this letter?” He immediately turns his head back down to watch Peter as he waited for the boy’s answer.

****

Peter’s fingers slowly crawl up his chin and slip between his lips as he thinks long and hard about the question he’d been asked. Tony bounces him faintly on his knee and Peter grins between his fingers emitting a steady hum to hear the lilt his voice made with every up and down motion of Tony’s knee. Tony stops the bouncing and quickly reaches up and pulls the boy’s fingers away from his mouth, holding the slimy hand in his own so the boy isn’t enticed by the urge.

****

“D?” Peter finally asks with a bit of unsurity, craning his head backward to look up at the genius. His eyes squinted in confusion with an eyebrow raised and his other hand slowly crept towards his mouth with his pointer finger extended, but Tony quickly grabbed onto that one too, clasping both of Peter’s hands between his own and resting them in the boy’s lap.

****

“Not quite,” Tony smiled, “but so close. ‘D’ is over here.” He rests his finger on the D at the other end of the paper. 

****

“What’s this one?” He moves back to the ‘P’.

****

“Uhhhh,” Peter hums, squinting his eyes even more to focus. “Uhh, Puh-Puh…?” He makes the noise with a questioning cadence, looking up at Tony for further reassurance.

****

“Good, getting closer,” Tony praises, and Peter grins in triumph before ripping his hands away from Tony’s grip to throw them in the air as he exclaims the answer excitedly.

****

“‘P’!” He shouts grinning toothily at the man.

****

“Yes,” Tony smiles back and lifts his hand to smooth down the errant curls popping out of the mess of hair Pepper had attempted to tame that morning, “and that’s the first letter of your name. Peeeter. Do you hear it?”

****

“Yeah!” Peter nods enthusiastically, clapping his hands emphatically. “What’s the next one?” He turns his head to look back down at the paper. He watches Tony’s large, calloused hand closely as it trails across the sheet to land on another letter.

****

Peter’s nose puckers cutely in disgruntled confusion as he struggled to recall the name of the letter.

****

“It rhymes with ‘P’” Tony supplied helpfully with another couple encouraging bounces of his knee.

****

“Uhhh-uhh. E-E?”

****

“Yes!” Tony grinned, “Very good.”

****

They had been working on the letters for nearly half the morning, and for some reason, Tony found more joy at Peter’s aptitude for learning than anything else he’d done in the past month. The way Peter’s eyes would brighten in triumph and his wide smile when he received praise. Just being exposed to Peter’s little-boy innocence and compassion had Tony smiling more and worrying less. He didn’t feel the overwhelming urge to shoot a man in the head at the smallest provocation and he just… he felt normal.

****

So, when Pepper asked him to take Peter down to his office with him that morning, he didn’t put up _too_ much of a fight. It wasn’t like he planned on getting much done anyway… Pepper hadn’t been feeling great, expressing the need to rest, and Happy was busy harassing the new recruits so they’d be ready to handle important business when the need arose. Of course, Tony was sure to put up a bit of a fuss for appearances sake, but he gladly carried Peter in his arms as he made his way down to his office, biting down on a smile as the boy draped himself over his shoulder to wave animatedly at everyone they had passed during their trek down the hall. Everyone had seemed just as happy to see Peter as Peter was to see them, but no one approached them, and, instead, veered out of his path when they saw him coming.

****

When they had reached the office, Tony, to his credit, at least made an effort to get some work done before he inevitably got distracted. He mulled over his latest theory on enhanced cellular regeneration. He wasn’t a biology expert by any means, but he knew his way around enough to construct a somewhat viable schematic for a nitrous oxide-based spray canister to apply it… it was, of course, just a working theory, but Tony could only begin to imagine the benefits it would have for his men. Peter had behaved for the first half-hour. He hummed songs Pepper had taught him under his breath, flipping through colorful books-- featuring laughable artistic renderings of animals and people-- that had slowly accumulated in Tony’s office over the past week and a half.

****

Though, of course, as a needy, touch-starved four-year-old, it wasn’t long before Peter was pushing insistently at Tony’s leg with a book tucked under his little armpit. Tony had acknowledged him for a moment, indulging him with a quick kiss before insisting for only ten more minutes, but Peter hadn’t been having it. He humphed and took it upon himself to scale up the man’s legs, fueled only by his stubbornness and determination to have the man’s full attention on him and him alone. It took a while, but eventually, with enough frustrated nudges of Peter’s head pushing against the large arms blocking his path and strong fistfuls of Tony’s trousers, the boy was able to haul himself up and situate himself in the man’s lap, moodily slapping the book on his own lap and shoving Tony’s arm harshly to get his attention with a furrow between his brows.

****

Tony didn’t get any more work done after that. One thing had led to another. He and Peter went through a good one or two random Dr. Seuss books, one Skippy John Jones, a Hungry, Hungry Caterpillar, and Hop on Pop at least two more times before Peter seemed to grow bored and expressed an interest to learn to read himself. 

****

Tony had been impressed by his own endurance when it came to reading tedious, ridiculous children's books filled with rhymes and words that probably didn’t exist. He had never pictured himself being able to do it before, but there he was, and he hated to say that he was getting kinda good at it. 

****

But when Peter huffily voiced his wish to be able to read for himself, Tony was already formulating ideas. An hour later and Peter nearly had the entire alphabet memorized. Tony had no idea he could feel such pride.

****

* * *

****

“You have him?” Pepper questioned through a heavy breath.

****

“I’m looking right at him, Pep. You ready for me to bring him your way?” 

****

“No, not yet.” Pepper breathed out slowly, pushing a series of long breaths from her lips to calm herself down. “I need to fix a couple of protocols for JARVIS and I need to talk to Rhodes… because you’ll be shot on-site if you just walk in here unannounced.” She pressed a hand to her stomach and grimaced as she felt another hard kick aimed at her swollen belly.

****

“Okay. I have Barton with me, expect him as well. And if you will situate snipers on a higher floor, I believe we’re being followed and I don’t want to lose Parker, and by extension, this deal with Stark…” Coulson pauses for a moment. “Will I see you by any chance Pepper?”

****

Pepper blinked back a couple of tears and released another tense breath before breathing in sharply to answer Coulson’s inquiry.

****

“I’m not sure. I’ll be sure to visit if you happen to stick around though… Give me ten minutes to sort this out… and if Tony gives you any trouble have him call me in and I’ll make my way down to sort it out. Goodness knows that man has a flair for dramatics. And don’t provoke him, please,” she rolled her eyes with a huff, “I know how you are around him. Don’t try to take over, just listen to him and do what he says. I don’t need him killing you again, because we can really use your help. And Peter’s there… I don’t want him to see something like that so young.”

****

Coulson chuckles. “Sure thing Pepper. I’ll see you in a few I suppose.”

****

Pepper smiles and her breath wavers slightly before she hangs up. She drops the phone onto the mess of blankets and rolls to her side to hug a pillow close to her face, breathing in and out using the practiced breathing exercises Bruce had coached her and Tony on a month ago. She groans when she feels another sharp kick, then growls. 

****

“You better be the cutest damn baby I’ve ever seen in my whole goddamn life or your Daddy’s gonna have hell to pay when this is all over.”

 

* * *

****

“Boss! Boss-Tony! B-Boss!” Both Peter and Tony startled when Harley stumbled into his office with a crazed look in his eyes and heavy breaths pushing his chest up and down. He was supposed to be studying up on some work Tony had given him so he didn’t fall behind in school and Tony just knew that the kid’s panic wasn’t because he had a question on the (home)school-work.

****

“What’s wrong Kid?” Tony questioned with a worried quirk of his brow. He wrapped one arm tightly around Peter’s front and stands from his chair so the tiny child is lifted along with him. Harley was already at his side, tugging on his other arm insistently by the time he was standing to his full height.

****

“Hydra’s here,” He whispered through a heavy breath, body tucking closer towards Tony on instinct.

****

“What?!” Tony snaps, eyes bugging out from his skull as he shoves the boy behind him as he reaches for the gun he had hidden in his desk drawer. The enhanced revolver was extremely intuitive, but he still hadn’t wanted Peter getting his hands on it while they were reading. He drops Peter onto his chair a bit rough and he rolls it behind him with a kick of his foot so his body is shielding both Peter and Harley from whatever walks through his office door next. He listens quietly for a few seconds but hears no footsteps. Then, his mind slows down and he’s instantly hit with the realization that JARVIS hadn’t spoken a word on the matter.

****

“JARVIS?” Tony questions, voice loud and authoritative without ever breaking his glare directed towards the door.

****

There are a couple of heavy seconds of silence before an alternative voice rings out in his office. 

****

“Master JARVIS has been momentarily disabled, Boss,” FRIDAY announces monotonously. Tony releases a long string of curses under his breath and he can feel his heart picking up speed when he’s hit with the sudden realization that they must be under some sort of attack and he has no plan. His backup AI was still a work-in-progress. Her coding was heavy with glitches and she didn’t have near as much experience as JARVIS did, which meant no ability to process and produce reliable output. Tony rarely used her without JARVIS supervising her coding within their own computer programming… FRIDAY _depended_ on JARVIS. _Tony_ depended on JARVIS.

****

“Did anyone follow you?” Tony eventually asks, finally turning his attention towards Harley, who was sadly the only source for information he had at the moment.

****

“I-I-I don’t know,” Harley stammered, pupils blown wide with panic as he ran a frantic hands through his hair. “I-I just saw that Shield dude, and I knew Shield turned to Hydra, and-and I just came and got you. Everyone was-was running everywhere and everything, and-and JARVIS wouldn’t answer and everyone was freaking out!”

  
“FRIDAY? Where are Rhodey and Happy?” He asked hopefully, shooting one last wary glance towards the door before nodding his head up to glance at the ceiling. It took several moments for the AI to process the question because she was about as stupid as Siri and Tony found himself quickly growing impatient.

****

“Sir Rhodes and Ms. Romanoff are escorting Mr. Phil Coulson to your office as we speak, Boss.” She eventually answered.

****

“Rhodey’s Hydra?” Harley gasped, hand shooting directly towards his mouth to gnaw at his nails.

****

Tony deflated a little in relief. He didn’t know what he was planning to do if Hydra had decided to invade his property. “No, there has to be another reasonable explanation. Alarms should have gone off and _you_ shouldn’t be the only one rushing into my office if this were a real invasion… Thank goodness.” He tucks his gun into the waistband of his pants and jabs two fingers into the side of the overhang of his desk with a grimace.  A tabled selection of knives immediately spins out from the rim of his desk with the leverage from Tony’s fingers. He holsters two inside his jacket with practiced speed. Then he spins towards Harley and frowns at his anxious expression. He hurriedly swats the kid’s hand away from his mouth and reaches down to scoop up Peter, who was very near to tears, arms lifted towards Tony insistently. “Take Pete, and go to your room. Lock the door and shut off the lights and hide. Don’t use the elevator; use the stairs. I’m not comfortable with Peter out in the open with an active, unknown threat, and you need to take care of him. I don’t want either of you coming out of there until I come and get you. Do I make myself clear?”

****

“But I can help-” Harley hurriedly interjects, though his confidence is easily transparent with the way his shoulders convulse nervously. Tony really hated having to deal with Harley’s constant insistence that he was capable, that he could help, that he was old enough, strong enough, brave enough to do what needed to be done. Tony hated that. He really, really hated it.

****

Tony narrows his eyes threateningly, pulling Peter against him so he can press a finger into Harley’s chest, ensuring to word his next command in a way that would appeal. He didn’t have time to argue the usual, overused “ _because I said so,_ ” or “Y _ou aren’t capable, you aren’t old enough, and you need to be protected,”_ because none of those arguments ever ended quickly or gracefully anymore. Not since the kid had grown a pair of balls big enough to challenge him at every turn. “Do what you’re told, Kid. This is an important job that I don’t even entrust to some of my most capable men. I trust you to take care of him, and that’s what I need you to do. If something happens, I need to know there’s someone levelheaded enough to protect him if the need arises. Now… do you think I can trust you with that?”

****

“Yessir,” Harley nods, eager to prove himself. He reaches out, ready to take Peter into his arms and dash out the room… but it was too late.

****

“Hey-hey-hey! You can’t just barge in there!” He hears Rhodey roar as the doors to his office is thrown open with a violent bang.

****

Tony acts immediately on instinct, moving with precision and practice as if he were seeing everything in slow motion. He reaches one arm out beside him as he spins, shoving Harley behind him with such force the kid nearly trips over his own feet as he stumbles backward. His defensive body position immediately follows, arm reaching behind his back for his gun. His arm extends to aim towards the man, Peter tucked as close as possible into his side, ensuring to shield his small body with his own by exposing his empty side to the intruder. Peter’s head jerks, face immediately diving to press into the side of Tony’s neck as his shoulders quake softly in fear. Tony bares his teeth, using his thumb to release the safety of his pistol, aiming the muzzle right between the eyes of Phil Coulson himself.

****

“There’s no time,” the man responds stoically, staring Tony down with that stupid look he hated so much. Tony instantly recalled why he found such joy killing the man. He hadn’t had enough time to crop out the shit-eating grin off the man’s face with his knife at the time… but now that he thinks back… he should have taken the time.

  
“What the hell’s going on here?” Tony snarled, subtly petting the back of Peter’s neck, down his back, when he felt the tears fall onto his neck.

****

Coulson raises his hands defensively, bowing his head in a quick act of submission. “I’m only here to make a deal with you Stark.”

****

Tony lifted his chin in defiance and tightened his grip on Peter like he was scared Coulson was there to take him away. He could feel the vibrations at the back of his jaw as he unconsciously ground his teeth together in an attempt to contain his frustration. He had never been a big fan of Phil Coulson, long before he ever laid his hands on Pepper.

****

“What do you want you bastard?” He asked. He adjusted his shoulder uncomfortably when he noticed Coulson eyeing the kid hugging his neck tightly.

****

“Yeah. Why’re you here?” Harley butted in rudely, stepping forward. He narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms over his chest as he stared venomously at Coulson. 

****

“Harley,” Tony reprimanded under his breath with a quiet sigh, but it was no use. The kid had been somewhat out of control lately, determined to prove his rank and earn the respect from the other men and women around the Tower. “We don’t work with Hydra dude.” 

****

Tony refrained from rolling his eyes, but he got a clear view of Rhodey giving into the biggest eye-roll of the century. For some reason that seemed to lighten Tony’s mood… only slightly. He always found Rhodey’s annoyance immensely gratifying.

****

He placed his gun down on the desk slowly and reached out to press his palm against Harley’s chest, effectively pushing him to stand behind him once more and nonverbally scolding him to ‘shut the hell up’.

****

“I’m sorry about him.” He directed the forced apology towards Coulson.

****

“Why’re you sorry?!” Harley sounded offended, pushing against Tony’s hand so he could settle the man with his glare and point an accusatory finger at Coulson. “He’s a Nazi!”

  
Peter sobbed loud and hard against him at that, and Tony grit his teeth in anger as he glared down at the defiant boy. Thankfully Coulson spoke up before Tony had the chance to lose his cool in front of a room full of unwanted witnesses.

****

“We’re not Hydra,” He answered simply with an amused quirk of his mouth. “We’re Shield.”

****

Tony grit his teeth together at that too. “Sorry to burst your bubble buddy. But around here those two are one and the same. Your guy Fury is dead, and he corrupted your people. He left you with no successors. There is no Shield anymore; only Hydra. So unless you have something useful to say, I’d suggest you say it before I blow your brains all over my wall. It’s in need of a new paint job anyway.”

****

He felt a nervous shiver run down Peter’s spine, and the skin on his neck tingled when Peter’s fists tightened on his collar… he realized it may have been smart to use a better choice of words when there were young, innocent ears listening in.

****

“I was his right-hand,” Coulson answered without a second thought, and Tony hated how difficult it was to get a read on him. “I’m his successor. Hydra wasn’t part of my or Fury’s plan, and what’s left of Shield is set on fixing what went terribly wrong. I know that you share those same feelings as I, Mr. Stark. Your father was directly involved with both Shield and Hydra; that cannot just be a coincidence and you know it. Just like you, our mission is to establish a safe, tolerant world with people who follow our rules and Hydra has corrupted far more than what we can imagine. They’ve killed thousands of people and are planning on killing millions more. Hydra has broken every single one of your rules Mr. Stark. I want to know what you’re going to do about it, and I want to help.”

****

Tony takes a quick glance at Harley and he clicked his teeth together twice before responding.

****

“What do you need from me? And what do you have to offer? You better not have walked in here empty-handed.”

****

“I don’t need anything from you,” Coulson smirked, “it’s you who needs something from me.”

****

Tony laughs outright at that. Low, guttural and distinct. His pupils dilated dangerously as he fixed his menacing gaze on the man. “Ha! And what makes you say that?”

****

The man’s confidence didn’t waver. “Your wife contacted me. She told me everything.”

****

Tony’s face turns red. He spun and dropped Peter into his office chair roughly, ignoring the boy’s cry of surprise as Tony quickly rounded the desk. He marched forward until he was toe to toe with the man. He felt his throat tighten and tremble with repressed rage as he whispered darkly. 

****

“What did you just say?” He growled with bared teeth, shoving the man hard enough to make him stumble back, and toeing up to him again.

****

“I said that your wife contacted me,” Coulson responded without hesitation. He frowned in annoyance as he made a show of brushing off the lapels of his jacket where Tony had pushed him. “She explained everything to me.”

****

“I told you to stay away from her!” Tony’s voice thundered. Hand lifting to circle around the man’s throat. Coulson didn’t so much as flinch and Tony’s nostrils flared as another growl escaped from the back of his throat. “And the last time you didn’t listen you nearly killed her.” He spat the words through his teeth.

****

“It wasn’t anything personal,” Coulson answered smoothly, eyebrows furrowing to challenge Tony’s glare.

****

“Shut up!” Tony bellowed, releasing his hold on Coulson’s throat. He stepped back for the perfect vantage to throw his fist at the man’s face. 

****

Coulson blocked the sloppy punch easily, and Tony roared in frustration, but it didn’t deter him. It didn’t take much more than a few well-placed jabs to the ribs and an elbow to the jaw before he had Coulson dazed enough to pin his arms behind his back. Tony shoved Coulson against his office wall, using his left hand to push against Coulson’s head so his face was pressed into the wall. Tony’s own body pressed up against his back, right arm lifted to hold the knife dangerously against the man’s jugular.

****

“Give me a reason right now not to slit your throat so I can watch you bleed out on my floor,” Tony whispered threateningly into his ear, pulling the blade close enough to draw blood. Coulson didn’t flinch; he simply jerked against Tony’s close hold, only to be stopped by the weight of the larger man’s body pressing against him.

****

“There are children watching.” He sounded smug, and Tony almost gave into the urge and slashed his throat right there, but of course, Coulson was smart and he called his bluff. He wasn’t about to kill a man in cold blood in front of Peter or Harley. They shouldn’t ever see something like that.

****

Tony released him, but not without a rough shove into the wall, and he took a quick glance at the two kids behind his desk, taking several steps away from the man to remove himself from the situation. Peter was now curled in Harley’s arms. Harley was watching them intently, stock still. Tony cursed under his breath. But even though Harley may have been actively watching, Tony’s anger was still raging like a rabid dog inside his chest and he just had to do _something_. So, he spun back around and tossed his knife at the wall with an easy flick of his wrist, effectively pinning Coulson to the wall by his hand.

****

“Gaah!” Coulson cried out in a high-pitched wail, filling Tony with a deep sense of satisfaction as he watched the thick stream of blood pour from the man’s hand in large rivulets of red crimson sheening against the light. “You Bitch!” It was nice to finally see something other than indifference and confidence on the man’s face; it being in pain and anger just further fueled Tony’s gratification.

****

“Next time don’t piss me off,” Tony grinned wickedly. He nodded at Natasha and she eagerly jumped forward to help Coulson with his injury… apparently, she was still loyal to Shield in some ways and Tony frowned at the thought. He knew she wasn’t with Hydra, but it was hard to know if she was still with Shield. “Now, if you don’t want me to put a bullet in both your kneecaps next, I’d hurry along and explain to me _exactly_ what you think you’re doing on my property.”

****

Natasha pulled the knife from his hand with one swift tug, causing the man to cry out in pain once more, and she hurried to begin wrapping the bleeding hand in a discarded cloth. By that time, he was breathing heavily, and his eyelids were drooping tiredly from the blood loss.

****

“Hydra’s out for us. They were exposed sooner than they would have liked and they weren’t able to clean us out all the way. There’s a good hundred of us left, but against Hydra, we don’t stand a chance; not with the numbers they’re raking in. We know things… and they don’t want it getting out and we have technology hidden away in old bases that they want.”

****

“So you’re coming to me for protection?” Tony smiled patronizingly. “How sweet of you to trust me.”

****

This time Coulson glared at him. “Shut up Stark. You need the help as much as we do.”

****

Tony scoffed. “Oh please.”

****

“Hydra’s looking for you. Ross is looking for you. Oscorp is looking for you. Ten Rings. Society. The UN. Everyone of power wants you dead. Need I go on?”

****

“I don’t see how you’re supposed to help with that,” Tony informed, raising an eyebrow. “You have less manpower than what my father lent me when I was 5.”

****

“You need men Stark. All the men you can get and you know that better than anyone else. My guys are experienced and I can trust them, what about your new guys? Not so experienced. Not much you can trust them with. It’s not hard to see that you’re practically grasping at strings to stay afloat.” He shot a pointed look behind him at Harley, and Tony turned as well to look. The kid was pale, and all of a sudden Tony felt a pit of guilt start eating away at his stomach.

****

“Hey, Kid. Why don’t you and Pete go to your room while I-”

****

“No, Stark. I think it’s best they stay.”

****

“No,” Tony snapped vehemently, “you don’t get a say on my decisions. You came to _me_ . If you want my protection, you listen to _me_. I’m the boss, and you don’t question that. Understood?”

****

“Whatever you say Stark,” Coulson shrugged, that stupid indifferent smile returning. “I just think Peter should be here when I give my peace offering.”

****

Tony narrowed his eyes at Coulson and backed away, towards the two kids. He flicked his hand at Rhodey and Happy in a silent signal to watch Coulson, and both men silently snaked up to stand on either side of him. 

****

“You okay, Kid?” Tony asked in a lowered voice. He dropped his hands to Harley’s shoulder and squeezed gently.

****

“Uh, y-yeah-yeah. I just- I’m not really used to seeing stuff like that anymore, I guess. K-Kinda gross honestly,” he stuttered out, bouncing and rocking to try and soothe Peter, who seemed to have significantly calmed down.

****

“I’m sorry,” Tony apologized through gritted teeth. “How’s he doing?” He nodded towards Peter and hesitantly reached out a hand towards his soft curls before thinking better of it and lowering his arm.

****

“He’s doing better. I think he was just startled by all the commotion at first.”

****

“Okay,” Tony nodded solemnly. “You can leave if you-”

  
“No-no-no it’s cool. I’m not bothered by that stuff. I’ve-I’ve seen it all before. It was just weird with… y’know… _you_ doing it. You don’t really do that kinda stuff in front of me.”

****

“And I shouldn’t,” Tony corrected with a sigh, “but I don’t plan on much more violence, so if you really wanna stay I don’t mind I suppose… it shouldn’t last much longer than another couple minutes… but if I’m ‘bout to shoot him I’m gonna send you two out of here and you better be up and out before I lose my patience.”

****

At that, Peter picked his head up to look at Tony through his wide, puffy eyes. 

****

“Is he bad man?”

****

Tony faltered. “Umm,” he pursed his lips in thought. “Yes and no.”

****

“How can it be yes an’ no?” He asked innocently, cocking his little head of curls to the side in confusion with a small sniffle.

****

“Well,” Tony smiled, “that’s a mystery adults are still figuring out kiddo. Now Harley, why don’t you sit.” He guided Harley to sit down at his desk chair and the kid’s eyebrows rose in surprise as he looked down at the chair. The Boss’ chair… he was about to sit in his Boss’ chair. 

****

“Whoah,” he breathed, smiling giddily to himself as he looked between the arms of the chair before sinking into the cushions and getting comfortable with Peter in his lap. He adjusted Peter into a more comfortable position, legs sprawled over either of his thighs with his face tucked into Harley’s neck, and Tony chuckled. He reached out to ruffle both kids’ hair, finishing each time with a slow rake through the wild curls both boys donned.

****

“We do ABC when you done?” Peter asked, peeking up at him with a shy smile.

****

“Of course Bug,” Tony smiled, smoothing back the curls that had fallen against his forehead one last time so he could press a quick kiss to his hairline. “Then we’ll whip out some more Dr. Seuss.”

****

He heard Coulson clear his throat from across the room. “If you’re done schmoozing with Richard Parker’s kid, I’d like to continue.”

****

Tony sighed deeply and cast a glance at Harley. 

****

“Y’know, I might end up shooting him. He’s already pissing me off again. Be ready.” Harley laughed and Tony smiled at the sound, turning back around to approach Coulson.

****

“Okay, what’s so urgent?”

****

“I’d just like confirmation. My guys are out in the open and the longer we put this off, the more chance Hydra has at marking them off. Believe it or not, but I care about the lives of each and every one of my men.”

****

Tony stayed silent, bowing his head in thought.

****

“And Pepper spoke to you?”

****

“Yes. She asked me to come in and make a deal with you… confirm it with her if you need...” Coulson trails off and Tony looks up to narrow his eyes at him.

****

“I feel like you’re leaving out some very important information here. Pepper wouldn’t make a deal like this with you unless she knew you had something of value to offer us beyond a hundred men.”

****

Coulson didn’t say anything, but Tony spotted the look he shared with Natasha. He didn’t like that look, and he narrowed his eyes at the woman he’d come to trust… slightly.

****

“Romanoff, have something to share?”

****

“Pepper knew I needed help finding Parker.”  

****

“You have Parker.” Tony immediately discerned fervently, taking steps that brought him close enough to be nose to nose with her. “Where is he?”

****

“He’s outside,” Coulson stated, stepping towards them. “Barton’s watching him. He assisted in the retrieval. I couldn’t risk my only means of leverage before I spoke with you directly.”

****

Before Tony was even able to give the order, his office door was being thrown open again as Hogan urgently ushered Barton and his bound prisoner into the room. 

****

Tony couldn’t even describe the all-encompassing feeling of giddiness that flooded through him. His fingers twitched in anticipation and he could feel the menacing teeth-bared grin that split across his face as he watched Richard Parker stumble into the room with his mouth gagged, eyes blindfolded, and his hands tied behind his back. Tony momentarily forgot about the Parker child across the room as he rushed upon the man to tug the gag from his mouth and the handkerchief from around his eyes so he could bask in the pitiful terror the man emoted when they locked eyes.

****

“S-Stark,” he breathed with a nervous hitch while trying to maintain some semblance of valor, but Tony wasn’t fooled. He watched as Barton kicked the back of his legs and the man fell to his knees in front of him.

****

“Parker,” he responded eagerly, smiling down joyfully at the man as if he were greeting a long-lost best friend, “I have no words to express how happy I am to see you… kneeling here in front of me… I can already see the beautiful picture I’ll be able to paint on my floor with your blood.” He ran a teasing finger along the side of the man’s face, tracing the outline of his jaw, and Richard jerked away from the touch with a choked breath.

****

Tony didn’t have time to continue his invasive ministrations, because then he heard a struggle, an urgent shout of ‘Peter no!’ and then the pitter-patter of familiar little feet. His heart stopped and his lungs leaped into his throat. **_Peter was still here._ **

****

“Dad-Daddy?”

****

“Peter!” Richard called out eagerly through a release of breath when he spotted his son running towards them. “Peter! Thank god you’re okay.” His hands were tied behind his back, thank goodness, because if he would have laid a hand on Peter Tony didn’t think he’d be able to refrain from pummeling him into the carpet, despite any hesitation of doing it in front of the man’s son.

****

“Dad?” Peter slowed considerably as he crept closer, focusing in on his father with a wary gaze like he wasn’t really sure it was him. Tony felt frozen in place as he watched helplessly while Richard gently coaxed his son to come closer.

****

“Peter c’mere.” He pleaded desperately. “It’s okay. C’mere baby. What’s wrong? Did he hurt you? Are you okay?”

****

Peter stared at him with furrowed eyebrows to express his little-boy confusion.

****

“Why you here? You takin’ me back?”

****

“Yes!” Richard grinned, huffing out a relieved chuckle as he cast a worried look in Tony’s direction. “Yes, I can bring you home. You just have to tell Stark that you want to come home with me. Tell him I’m a good Dad and that this is all just a big misunderstanding. Okay?”

****

The room was heavy with the loudest silence Tony’s ever experienced as Peter mulled over his father’s instructions. Tony felt his saliva thicken and he couldn't swallow… because Peter was looking at him with a question in his eyes like Tony held all the answers to the questions he may ever have.

****

“Peter tell him,” Richard urged desperately, but Peter didn’t spare him another glance. He just looked up at Tony with a wobbly lip and furrowed brows.

****

“Tony?”

  
Tony’s teeth clenched together tightly, and words spilled from his mouth before he could stop himself. “If you want to go home Peter, I’ll let you and your Dad go.” He couldn’t just… He couldn’t just tear Peter away from his father like this if Peter didn’t want him to. Especially not when the little boy very well knew what Tony intended to do with him, and for once Tony hated that Peter was so amazingly smart. He just… He can’t handle the thought of Peter resenting him. He can’t-He can’t make this decision for him if it meant that both he and Peter will both lose in the end either way if he decided for him.

****

Peter’s expression melted into something between horror and disbelief. “Can I come see PepPep tho. An-and Ha’ley, and Happy, and Whodey, an-an… and _you_?”

****

“No,” Tony said, deciding to go with the truth. “Because if I ever see your father again, I won’t be letting him go a second time.”

****

“Oh,” Peter paused, dropping his eyes to stare at his feet. “‘Cause he’s bad?”

****

Tony didn’t answer right away. For some reason, telling a child that their father was a bad person seemed like crossing a line. “You tell me Peter.”

****

He knew it was wrong… practically forcing a child to decide whether his father deserved to be killed. He just- He couldn’t… He couldn’t just let Peter walk out of here with that man without at least _trying_...

****

Peter looked up at him and his mouth opened to answer, but then it closed again. He turned to look at his father who seemed to be close to tears while insisting repeatedly through murmured whimpers that Peter tell Tony to let them go.

****

“Dad...Daddy?” Peter started slowly, studying his father seriously.

****

“What is it Peter?” Richard sighed breathlessly, looking at his son in a way he had probably never looked at him before. “Anything Peter. Anything you want, I'll get it for you. Just tell Tony to let us go so we can go home.”

****

Peter didn’t seem to care about that. He cocked his head to the side and looked at his father with an odd mixture of dark innocence lingering behind clouded eyes.

  
“Did you kill Mama?”

****

“What?” Richard nearly squeaked, voice breaking with a choke. He shuffled closer to Peter on his knees. “No-no-no, I told you I didn’t Peter. It was Stark,” he nodded at Tony. “I told you he was the one that killed your Mama, that’s why we have to go, or else he’ll kill me and you too.”

****

“He won’ kill me!” Peter insisted defensively, hands forming into tight fists at his side. Then he released his fists and the anger was quickly clouded over with a despondent frown of pity. His eyes darkened as he stared at his father stoically. “An’ he didn’t kill Mama.” He shook his head sagely. “He don’t kill good peop’e. Only the bad. Mama wasn’t bad. Are you bad? Did you kill Mama?”

****

Richard shook his head wretchedly, shuffling even closer towards his son, but Peter took a step back and narrowed his eyes menacingly. “Did you kill her?!” He insisted a little more harshly, with an assertive raise to his voice. Tony found it terrible to watch the innocent baby he knew form into this intense ball of hostility. There was no compassion, no cutesy words, or a reassuring smile. It was anger and hate and a lifetime of pent up wickedness that had been festering through learned behavior and a lack of love. It was cold and dark and Tony hated it. He detested it. 

****

And with a quick glance around the room, he knew he wasn’t the only one.

****

“No Peter,” Richard repeated adamantly. “I didn’t kill her.”

****

“I saw you,” Peter whispered into the silent room, officially shutting the blubbering man up with the single statement. “I saw you do it. Tell me that you did it.”

****

“Petey I told you, baby… that was just a dream,” Richard plead, tears shining in his eyes. “Listen to me. It was just a dream. I didn’t kill your Mama. So just tell Tony to let us go and this will all be over. We can go back home and I’ll get you a new Mama. Just tell Tony you want to go home with me.”

****

“No.”

****

“Peter!” Richard shouted, causing the boy to stumble back by the uproar. “Peter!! PETER! No! No PETER!!” 

****

Tears pooled from both Parkers’ eyes. Tony was quick to shut the man up with a quick kick in the ribs before he rushed to scoop Peter up in his arms. Peter gladly reached for him and curled into his arms for comfort. 

****

“STARK!” Richard screamed, red in the face by the strength of his screeching, “You asshole! You brainwashed my son! GIVE ME BACK MY SON!” 

****

Tony didn’t hesitate to kick him even harder in the gut. “Gag him.” He instructed darkly, nodding towards Barton and the man rushed forward to do as instructed, but not before Harley came rushing forward with steam pouring from his ears and fire behind his eyes as tears poured down his cheeks. 

****

“You bastard!” Harley screamed, throwing his fist into the man’s face. “You bastard!!” He kicked and punched and kicked until he felt the heavy weight of Tony’s hand dragging him away by the shoulder. “You sick evil bastard! You don’t screw with kids!”

****

“Hey,” Tony shushed, “sh-sh-sh,” pulling him away from the scene as Barton struggled to force the gag back into the man’s mouth through his shrieks and howls. 

****

Then, of course, in the midst of all the chaos, Pepper came sweeping in with her skirt billowing along behind her. Her lips were coated in a dark red, pursed and downcast.  A wave of dark anger emanated from her, brushing her cheeks with a bright red to match her hair as her eyes fixated on the thrashing man Barton had, grasped by the hairs on his head.

****

Peter was tucked closely into one of Tony’s shoulders, and Harley was sobbing heavily into his other, frustrated tears pooling onto his jacket. He squeezed both boys tight and watched as his wife flicked open the knife in her hand. She ignored them and approached Richard with a purposeful stride. The man continued thrashing angrily against Barton as she came to a stop in front of him and Tony watched her silently. Barton bared his teeth as he strained to detain the man by tugging on his hair harshly to draw his head back, allowing Pepper the perfect vantage to tower over him. She stared down at him with a blank frown, hair falling over her shoulders to frame her face and tickle Richard’s cheeks as she held the sharp point of her knife to rest underneath the tip of his chin. Parker’s eyes were blown wide as his entire body heaved with his heavy, panicked breaths. 

****

She leaned forward slowly and whispered something too soft for anyone else to hear into his ear… Tony still didn’t move to stop her. Then, while she was pulling away, she pressed a lingering kiss to the man’s cheek, leaving a dark imprint of her red lipstick before she pulled away and smiled down at him with fluttering lids. She raised her other hand to trace a brightly painted nail down the length of his jaw, pausing momentarily to brush the pad of her thumb over the mark of her lips she had left on his cheek. And without a single stutter of movement, she lifted her knife swiftly to slash across his cheek, cutting perfectly through the small gap between the lips she had painted onto his skin. His blood poured from the cut, coating the knife she propped beneath his jaw and she smiled softly at him, stroking his untouched cheek. 

****

Then, she grasped his chin gently between her fingers and tipped his head back to look up at her. He did. Terrified and afraid, but he looked her dead in the eye. 

****

“I wish you the worst my dear,” she purred gently, leaning down to press another lingering kiss to his forehead. Once again leaving the perfect mark of her lips behind before she releases his chin and drops the blood-coated knife, allowing it to clatter to the floor beside him.

****

That’s when she turned away and hurried her way towards Tony and the boys, face falling in worry, already reaching out towards them.

****

“Hey,” she soothed softly, joining Tony’s hand in rubbing Harley’s back. “It’s okay sweetie. C’mere.” 

****

Harley gravitated towards her, allowing himself to be coddled in Pepper’s arms, and Tony adjusted to be attentive towards Peter, making sure Richard had a clear view as he comforted his son.

****

“Hey, Pete, look at me, would’ya.” His hand combed through his messy brown curls and Peter’s snotty, puffy face pulled away from his shoulder to stare at him blankly. Tony smiled softly and cupped his cheek gently. “Tell me what you want, baby. Tell me and I’ll do it. Whatever you want.”

****

Peter’s lip jutted out and wobbled sadly before a scowl broke across his face. More tears soon followed.

****

“He’s bad,” Peter stated firmly with a shaky voice. “So bad.”

****

“He kill’t my Mama. Kill him too… please?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Lemme know what you think. This has been the most intense chapter so far and... yeah. And before anyone decides to attack me, keep in mind that this is an AU, a Criminal AU, which means some people will be kinda... evil... which means Peter might be sweet but he's also a little dark... so just keep that in mind.
> 
> Gimme thoughts on Richard, cuz I want to get his characterization right in future chapters. And let me know if there's something that should probably be fixed.
> 
> So, yeah, I like to hear from you guys, it's kinda nice. :)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning!! There is a graphic description of torture in this chapter... and the situation may be very uncomfortable for some readers. So, please be cautious. 
> 
> Also, don't attack me please. Thanks

Tony didn’t know how to describe the feeling that encompassed him after Peter’s shy declaration. His gut swirled with excitement when Richard cried out with a muffled sob, squirming violently in an attempt to escape Baron’s tight hold. He felt a small smile edge across the corners of his mouth, but it quickly fell back into a frown. A shuddered breath was puffed out across the skin on his neck and he shuddered when he felt the distinct vibration of Peter’s shiver as the boy tucked himself back into his shoulder with a small sob. Peter shuddered violently, little hands taut as he gripped the fabric of Tony’s jacket, releasing and grabbing continuously in an attempt to draw himself further into the comforting hold. 

****

That made Tony scowl, and his bull-headed anger returned full force with the urge to crack every bone in Richard Parker’s body, one by one, until he admitted to Peter the terrible things he had done to him, and apologized. But instead of doing that, he rocked his body side to side gently, humming quietly as he leaned his cheek against the side of Peter’s head, reaching up one hand to pet the boy’s hair.

****

The moment was interrupted by Richard’s muffled shouts coming to an abrupt halt as Coulson pressed the point of his knife to the bridge of the man’s nose, directly between his two eyes. Coulson rolled his own eyes at the man’s dramatics then turned to look back at Tony, Pepper, and the boys, waving his hand in a gesture to continue. 

****

Tony nodded his head gratefully at him and pressed against Peter’s head gently when the boy attempted to look up at what had caused his father’s sudden silence.   
  
“Shh, baby,” Tony soothed, returning to petting the boy’s hair gently as he coaxed the child into relaxing.

****

Pepper looked over at Tony with Harley’s head tucked into her neck, body curled around her protruding abdomen, and her strong arms wrapped around his lanky body. She gave Tony a pointed look before giving Harley one last squeeze and letting go.  
  
“I’m going to take them upstairs to cool down…” she stepped closer to them, holding out her arms to take Peter, but Tony shook his head, spinning his body away from her to pull Peter out of her path.

****

He fixed her with a stern expression of his own. “I don’t think so, Pep. There are a few things that I feel still need to be taken care of.” He jostled his shoulder and Peter lifted his head to look up at him, but Tony kept a strong hand braced on the side of his neck to ensure the kid wouldn’t be able to look behind him. “Hey, Buddy,” Tony’s thumb stretched up to brush away a couple of tears that had fallen, “would it make you feel any better if your Dad told you the truth before… before you don’t see him again?” 

****

Peter’s mouth opened slightly as he thought about it, then he snapped it shut and nodded his head shyly before leaning back into Tony for comfort, forehead dropping to rest against his stubbly chin. Tony kissed him in response, because after the past few weeks with the kid, it was easy to tell what he wanted when he did things like that. Peter’s arms wrapped around his neck in response.

****

“Tony no,” Pepper began with a stern shake of her head, “he shouldn’t hear or see something like that ever. That’s why I intervened when I did. He’s too young to experience something like that.” She moved to grab Peter once more, but, again, Tony moved out of the way.

****

“I have noise-canceling headphones in my top drawer… and I’ll have Happy cover his eyes… He needs closure Pep. Trust me, I know. If he doesn’t hear it from his father now, he’s going to doubt himself, me, and his decision for the rest of his life. This is what I do Pepper. Take Harley and then come back for Peter. Hopefully, this won’t take very long and we can move on to helping him pretend this never happened.”

****

Pepper’s scowl drips into a worried frown, staring at Peter as Tony pressed two more kisses against the kid’s hairline before carding his hand through his curls.

****

“Wait-wait,” Harley perks up, stepping into the conversation with his arms crossed over his chest confidently. “If Peter stays, I wanna stay too.”

****

“No, I don’t think that’s a good idea. I only have one pair of headphones,” Tony answered softly with a gentle shake of his head.

****

“I can handle it! I don’t need stupid headphones. I’ve heard a man scream before.” Harley argued defiantly, rubbing at his cheeks to get rid of any residue tears from earlier. His cheeks were still red and puffy, and his scowl only defined his obvious distress. “I’m fine. Lemme stay. I need closure too.”

****

Tony sees something akin to jealousy flicker across the kid’s face when he risked a small glance between Peter and Tony. Then, before he knows what’s happening, tears begin pooling from the kid’s eyes once more and Tony’s frown is forming into an understanding smile. He takes a single step forward and cups Harley’s cheek a bit roughly to wipe away a fresh tear. Harley’s scowl disappears and he drops his gaze to look down at his feet in embarrassment. Tony frowns and chucks him under the chin.

****

“Hey, look at me.”

****

Harley obeys and his eyes flicker up to look at Tony, and in that moment, Tony was again reminded of how young Harley really was. Despite how much the kid insisted he was grown up… he wasn’t. He was a kid who had never, a day in his life, been allowed to be a kid. He’s always been the adult, always looking out for someone, seen more violence than most men, felt more fear and guilt than most humans, and Tony pities him. The first time in his life the kid’s offered a chance to be what he is… a kid… and he’s too stuck in his ways, too stubborn and too independent to admit he actually needs that dependence and stability. Tony would have killed for the same opportunity he’s offering the child in front of him… but then again, killing a man isn’t very far out of the ordinary for him... He’d give anything to be something-- anything-- else than what he’s become. Anything for a chance at normalcy… Anything for a choice… a chance… but it’s too late for him. 

****

It’s not too late for Harley… or Peter.

****

“What are you not telling me kid?” Tony paused, waiting for an answer, but Harley didn’t offer him one. “Is this really about Richard? Or… is it your own dad? ” Another tear and Tony wiped that one away too. Pepper quickly jumped in as well, combing through the kid’s hair with nimble fingers, bracing a hand on the side of the kid’s head to guide him to lie against her chest. Harley’s only response was a strangled whimper.

****

“Hey, listen,” Tony smiled, dropping his hand to the kid’s shoulder to squeeze it reassuringly. “We’ll talk about what to do with your dad later. But you shouldn’t be here. Peter really shouldn’t be either, but he needs to be. Okay?”

****

“But-but I’m old enough,” Harley continued to argue, pulling away from Pepper abruptly and wrenching backward so Tony’s hand falls from his shoulder. His face puckers up with another scowl as he tried to hold back the oncoming tears. “I-I can handle it. I’m fine.”

****

“I know you can,” Tony smiled with a sigh, “but I don’t want you to have to. Okay?” 

****

There was a long moment of silence and Tony was suddenly acutely away of the audience around them. He jolted to attention, back straight and softened face melting away just as the kid nodded and leaned back into Pepper.

****

“Great. I’ll see you later tonight…if you want maybe you can stay in the penthouse tonight … we can watch a movie or somethin’. Your pick. That good?” 

****

Harley looked at him again with a teary smile. “Yeah,” he smiled tightly, “Yeah, sounds great.”

****

“Alright. See ya later Kid. Be good for Pepper.”

****

* * *

The fact that Peter had barely flinched at the idea of his father being tortured for the sake of his own desires kind of bothered Tony. Yeah, he knew the kid wasn’t really emotionally attached to the man, but… still. It felt so wrong to see Peter bounce easily in his seat with a much-too-large pair of headphones on his head and Happy’s hands over his eyes while Tony busied himself slicing the man open in one place after another right in front of his son. It was dark and wrong; something that reminded him far too much of his own father and his insistence that Tony sat in on these important “meetings”. Although, then, he wasn’t granted the privilege of soothing music and warm hands to block out the blood-curdling screams and the long string of blood that prickled to the surface of pale skin, following a trail made by the sharp edges of a knife.

****

Before they had even started, Tony had Barton and Rhodey clean off Richard’s face where Pepper had done her part with the knife. The less blood Peter was exposed to, the better he’d feel about the idea of having the child in the room as he tortured his father. And, of course, he refrained from harming Richard anywhere above the collarbone. He had assumed that short slices along his ribcage and abdomen would suffice, but the man was stubborn and his mouth had remained glued shut… So, Tony knew he had to get a bit more creative for this next round.

****

“Alright, Pete. Ears and Eyes please,” Tony sighed once more when Richard growled in annoyance, glancing over at the kid perched on his desk. Tony really didn’t think it should be so hard to make a man _apologize_ to his son, but here he still stood, with Richard’s hair fisted in his hand after another short opportunity to allow the man to admit what he had done. Tony really hated that the kid was already so familiar with the drill, sitting there as if nothing of importance was going on, anger replaced with what seemed to be a blank slate of faux innocence and calm to unconsciously protect him from this trama. Happy stood behind him, adjusting the headphones to cover his ears once more before reaching around to cover the kid’s eyes with his own hands. Tony _hated_ that this had lasted long enough for Peter to become so familiar.

****

“Last chance Parker,” Tony warned, towering over him, wearing an irritated scowl.

****

“Screw you, Stark.” He rasped through a gasped breath, spitting on Tony’s shoe. Really, Tony should commend him. For the pussy-like persona he put on earlier, the man had guts. Not many men dared to spit on his shoes while he was in the midst of torturing them.

****

“I’m more into girls, sorry Buddy.” Tony laughed at his own joke, reaching behind the man to grab one of his tied up hands. There was a long pause as Tony glanced around the room that had been cleared out. Only Rhodey and Happy remained… and he smiled as he turned to look back down at Richard, faces a bit too close as he whispered. “Have you ever realized how dark the little piggy rhyme is?” He asked conversationally, fingering Parker’s index finger with faux curiosity. “It’s really quite a terrible thing to chant to your children so young. It seems so innocent at first,” he mused with a sigh, “and it’s not until your older, already torn down by life, that you realize the true meaning of what had, at the time, seemed to be so… okay… Death, cannibalism, and... _torture_ if you really think about it.” he jutted out his lip, appearing as if he were contemplating his own words, but then he smiled again as he turned back to Parker, enjoying the dilated cloud that glazed over the man’s eyes. “But don’t worry, I won’t be teaching Peter that one. I’ve always preferred the creativity in making my own rhymes… and y’know I’ve gotten pretty good at it too. I know all sorts of rhyming words now. Me an’ Pete read Dr. Seuss so much it’s almost like second nature at this point.”

****

He felt a warm puff of air dance across the side of his face and he turned to find Richard’s teary eyes staring back at him. His chin quivered pitifully, face red from the strain. Tony simply smiled a kind smile and yanked the man’s hand out of the restraints with one forceful tug, pinning the hand to his back at an uncomfortable angle before grasping his thumb between his own fingers.

****

“Anyways… this is usually done with the toes… but I feel it’ll be more effective to just settle with the fingers instead. I’m sure your feet reek,” he made a dramatic flicker of his hand in front of his nose, and he heard Rhodey chuckle from his spot in the room. “... and I really don’t wanna touch your disgusting toes.”

****

Richard scowled at him, but before he could get a word out, Tony was already moving on with a tight smile.

****

“This little piggy hurt his son,” Tony grinned as he twisted Richard’s thumb, eliciting a loud crack. Of course, Richard screamed. He thrashed against Tony before Tony squeezed the thumb he had just broken in retaliation and Richard immediately stopped, biting back a pained grunt as his eyes rolled into the back of his head. 

****

“Oh please,” Tony scoffed, “it doesn’t hurt that bad you pussy. I broke my own thumb at least five times by the time I was twelve.” 

****

“Unlike you Stark,” Richard spat out through heavy breaths, “I’m human and I have feelings.”

****

“Mm, I don’t know. I don’t think I’d have to be doing this right now if you had feelings.” Tony chuckled, grabbing onto the index finger before Richard had a chance to process. “This little piggy shoots a gun.” That snap was also followed by a loud scream, nearly muted by the dry strain in Richard’s throat. 

****

“This little piggy killed his wife.” Tony’s uppity voice didn’t falter as the ring finger went next, pushed back until it snapped and nearly pressed against the back of his hand, hanging loosely against the knuckle.

****

“This little piggy will pay with its worthless little life.” Then there went the pinky.

****

“And guess what this one did?’ Tony whispered into his ear with little-kiddy excitement, thumb and index finger grasping the remaining middle finger on the man’s hand tightly. Richard shivered against him, sweat pouring down his face as he quietly begged for him to stop. His voice quivered through the teary gasps, his entire body shaking through the adrenaline and pain. His pleas for mercy though only fueled Tony’s enjoyment, because he’s sure Peter at one point begged for the same. 

  
He spoke the next words slowly, quiet and meaningful as his grip slowly tightened. Richard’s response was to cry… he cried and he begged, sobs wet and loud and trembling. _(“Please, please, please,”)_

****

“This little piggy went wee, _wee, WEE_ all the way HOME.” He snarled along with the quick succession of three snaps that followed to the beat of the rhyme. He released him and reached up to grab a fistful of his hair and tugged so the man’s neck was angled backward uncomfortably so he could look into his eyes. Residue blood from earlier ordeals saturated his black shirt and dripped onto the floor. “So… would you like to apologize to your son now?”

****

Richard’s eyes were wide. Pupils blown and the white around the eyes bloodshot and cloudy as he stared up at Tony with a deep-seated mixture of hatred and fear. His jaw was clamped shut, a long string of loud hisses escaping through bared teeth as his chin quivered, lips spread apart to expose his reddened grin of unbearable agony. His lips flared out with each gasped breath, but other than that, he made no move to answer or surrender.

  
“I did nothing worth apologizing for,” Richard choked out for the millionth time, coughing on the speckles of blood pouring from his lip after biting down to hard and dribbling down his throat. 

  
“Tell _him_ that,” Tony growled angrily, tugging hard on his hair to pull at his head so his glare was directed at Peter, innocently sitting criss-cross atop Tony’s desk. “Look at your son and tell him all those things you did to him and his mother were okay, _and see what happens_.”

****

Happy took that as his cue to uncover Peter’s eyes. Immediately, his Bambi brown eyes blinked open and Happy reached back to pull off the headphones. Peter’s eyes fluttered in confusion as he slowly processed the two men a good few feet away from the desk. He stared at his father’s pale face curiously, then he looked back up at Tony’s frowning face.

****

“What you do?”

****

Tony’s frown broke away and he smiled to reassure him. “I just taught him the Little Piggies rhyme. That’s all.”

****

Peter’s eyes and smile brightened. “Wha’s that?”

****

“I’ll teach you when you're older if you want. Now, why don’t you ask Richard your question again?”

****

“Don’t call me Richard in front of him,” the man coughed, “I’m his father,” he corrected through gritted teeth.

****

Tony tugged punitively at the hair still fisted in his hands. “Not anymore. Now listen to Peter’s question.”

****

Peter focused seriously, the darkness from earlier returning to his eyes as he glared ominously at his father as he repeated the question he’d asked a thousand times. “Did you kill my Mama?”

****

“No!” Richard spat angrily, face turning red from the strain, veins popping from his neck as he shouted. “I didn’t kill your f-ing mother!” Then, a sharp pain in his lower back had him howling, sending a surprised Peter stuttering back as he stared, horrified, as his father’s eyes nearly popped from his skull.

****

“Let’s try that again, shall we?” Tony whispered with a faux lining of comfort in his tone, hand tightening on the thin blade he’d discretely pushed into the muscle of Richard’s lower back, twisting only slightly until the man was going lax against him. He made sure Peter wasn’t able to see the blade or the warm blood pouring from the wound and coating his hand, but… the loud screech that resulted seemed to be enough to startle the little boy. 

****

“Apologize for killing his mother,” Tony instructed calmly as if he were comforting a pained child, removing his other hand that had fisted into Richard’s hair to brush stray strands away from his sweaty forehead. “And this will all be over.”

****

“Hell no,” Richard gasped through the pain, swallowing the glops of blood that had begun to pool in his mouth, and Tony pursed his lips in disappointment.

****

“I see. Ears and Eyes Pete. Turns out I need to teach him Little Piggies all over again.”

****

“Wait-wait-wait!” Richard cried out desperately, panicking when Peter started to reach towards the headphones to do as instructed. “Okay. Wait-wait-wait. Maybe… maybe it might have been my fault that she died.”

****

Peter’s eyes narrowed angrily and he slapped his little hand on the tabletop. “You killt her! You did it! I saw!”

****

“Okay-okay,” Richard placated gently, eyes flickering between Tony and his son apprehensively. “I admit it,” he swallowed thickly, “I killed her, okay? I’m sorry, okay? But-but she did things Peter… I couldn’t let her get away with it--”

****

“You killt her!!” Peter screamed, standing from his perch on the desk so he was towering over his father’s kneeling form. His face went red as he bawled in outrage, loud and harsh. “You killt her! You killt ‘er!!! I hate you!”

****

“Peter no,” Richard begged with wide eyes, “listen Baby. You don’t remember her like you think you do. She wasn’t all that you thought she was-”

****

“She loved me!” Peter shrieked once more, making a move to dive off the desk. Happy quickly leapt forward to wrap a single arm around the boy’s waist, tugging him backward so his back was pressed against his large chest. Tony twisted the blade slightly before making his next point.

****

“Good. Apologize again. Then apologize for hurting him and not treating him right… and then say goodbye. You won’t be seeing him again.”

  
“No-no-no-no Stark. You don’t understand,” Richard pleaded, hurriedly spinning his neck to stare at the man, but he was stopped with another harsh scream rippling through his throat as the knife was pressed deeper into the tissue of his back. 

****

“Apologize,” Tony instructed through gritted teeth without an ounce of remorse. He felt the anger rising and the more Richard spoke, the more anger there was to pile onto the fire. Tony wanted him dead. 

****

Richard could taste the blood in his mouth; the metallic taste. The iron, and the unsavory tang as it slowly coated his tongue and throat as the knife continued to dive deeper into the muscles of his back.

****

“I’m sorry Peter,” he gasped harshly, breaths coming in short bursts, eyes rolling to the back of his head. “I’m sorry for hurting you. That was wrong. I’m so-so-so sorry. Please, please forgive me Peter. I’m sorry.” Another harsh scream and Tony grimaced slightly as the man collapsed heavily against him. He yanked out the blade, discreetly handing it off to Rhodey behind him as he dropped the limp, whimpering body to the floor. 

****

He looked up to see a teary Peter sobbing as he stared down at his father's body and the rhythmic lift of his chest.

****

Tony sighed, frowning in disappointment as he reached across his desk to grab the packet of wipes Happy already had out waiting for him. He quickly cleaned the blood from his hands and reached out to take Peter.

****

“Hey, Baby,” he cooed softly as he enveloped the boy in his arms, holding him close as the kid curled into him in search of the comfort he offered. “It’s okay. Do you feel better now?” 

****

He felt Peter’s hand reach around his neck to grab onto the hair at the base of his skull, nodding against his shoulder, whimpering and sobbing with small hiccups as he rubbed his snotty face along Tony’s white shirt. 

“I’m sorry you had to see that,” Tony whispered, leaning away so he could press a lingering kiss to the side of his head. Peter leaned into it, wrapping both arms around the man’s neck to pull their heads closer, body shaking with small tremors.

****

“Peter,” A loud groan coughed out at Tony’s feet and Tony immediately turned Peter’s head away before he could see, pushing the kid’s face into his shoulder. Then he kicked away the mangled hand reaching out for them, scowling. He repressed the urge to stomp his foot on the mutilated limb. Peter didn’t need to hear the loud scream and subsequent cracks of multiple bones breaking apart within the man’s hand.

****

He looked up at the ceiling and hoped JARVIS was back online.

****

“JARVIS get Bruce down here to patch up Parker. We need him happy and healthy when we need some more questions answered. Then have Allen bring up my tools.”

  
“Of course, sir,” JARVIS replied immediately.

****

Tony rocked slowly from side to side with Peter in his arms. Hushing and humming to try and soothe him, because it was him that made poor Peter sit through that traumatizing ordeal. He had a feeling that this particular event would follow Peter for the rest of his life, a darkness inside of him always lurking within the shadows; a trauma that can’t be forgotten. Because things like this… they ruin people. He only hoped Peter was still young enough to forget. He hoped the memories were new and short enough to be repressed and overwritten by years of love and support. He hoped. Then, for some reason that made him think of his father… how Tony had sat in on many of the same events at Peter’s age. Repeatedly. He’d learned from quite a young age how to properly break a man’s finger to elicit the loudest screams… seven maybe? And he’d never forgotten. The memories followed him everywhere; they dominated his life as if he were a puppet and his younger years or learned behavior were the strings, guiding him through life on instinct and fear… not by choice. He lived the life of his father; the very one he had dreaded as a child. And here he was, doing the same to the boy he could almost admit he saw as a son… Almost.

****

“Hey, it’s okay. I’m sorry.” Tony cooed softly. Peter’s grip tightened in response and before any more could be said, the door to his office was being thrown open again. It was Pepper.

****

“Pep? Where’s Harley?” Tony asked.

****

“Upstairs,” she answered stoically, casting a small glance at the groaning and moaning man splayed across the floor. She looked back up at Tony and Peter, arms outstretched towards the child cradled in her husband’s arms. “Now give me my baby.”

****

“Honey, I don’t think you should be carrying Peter right now. I’ll have Happy carry him-”

****

“Anthony Stark,” she bit out venomously, glaring at him, “give me. My. Baby. _Right now._ ”

****

“Okay-okay, fine,” Tony relented, reaching up to gently detach Peter’s grip from around his neck so he could deposit him in Pepper’s waiting arms. The kid didn’t seem to mind. He simply reached out towards Pepper, whimpering pitifully as a silent plea for hugs and comfort as Pepper fitted him perfectly against her hip.

****

“Oh, my sweet baby. It’s okay. Let’s go upstairs and you can watch some movies with Harley, hm?” Peter nodded eagerly against her, nuzzling into the side of her neck. So, she turned to look at Tony and nodded towards the man on the floor.

****

“How are you gonna handle him?”

****

“Bruce is comin’ in soon. He’ll fix up anything that may make him pass out, then spike him with some adrenaline to wake him up. There are a few more things I’d like to talk to him about.”

****

Pepper nodded thoughtfully. “Okay. I’ll drop Peter off with Harley and stay a little while to make sure they’re settled, then I’ll come down and join you.”

****

Tony grimaced at the thought and eyed his wife warily.

****

“You don’t like this kinda stuff Pep. And you hate the smell of blood right now. Or did you forget?”

****

“I can stomach it,” Pepper replied stonily, raising her eyebrows as if to dare him to tell her to stay upstairs. She made a pointed look at the pool of blood on the carpet in front of his desk.  After the incidents today, she doubts he would refrain from keeping her in the loop. 

****

“Alright,” Tony sighed with a small smile. He stepped closer and pressed a soft kiss to her lips then reached up a hand to smooth away Peter’s bangs before pressing a loving kiss to his forehead as well, pointedly ignoring the whimpered please from the man at their feet. “Love you. I’ll be up soon to see you Peter, okay?”

****

Peter nodded and smiled warmly, waving goodbye before turning his face back into Pepper’s collar.

****

“Give him hell Honey,” Pepper smiled over her shoulder with a wink. Then she walked out the room with Peter in her arms, and Tony turned back to Richard, a menacing scowl finding its way onto his face.

****

“Now, that was just a warmup my friend. You’re in for a real treat.”

****

* * *

Pepper carried Peter all the way up to the penthouse, exactly where she had brought Harley an hour earlier. 

****

Speaking of, the teen hadn’t moved an inch since she had left him alone to go retrieve Peter. The TV was playing the mundane baking show Pepper instructed JARVIS to put on, and Harley was still curled beneath the fluffy blanket Pepper had tucked around him after pressing a goodbye kiss to his hairline.

****

“Hey, Honey,” she greeted quietly, brushing her hand through his messy hair as she passed him during her trek around the couch. Peter was tucked into her shoulder, crying and snotting all over her blouse. She sat down, releasing a strained breath from the exertion of carrying Peter for an extended period. Peter remained latched onto her, but she still managed to scoot closer to Harley, reaching out to stroke his cheek to brush away the remnants of dried tears. “You doing okay?”

****

The boy nodded mutely without making eye contact, and Peter started stirring in her lap, crying out for her attention by tugging insistently at her shirt. 

****

“Oh sweetheart,” Pepper cooed, pulling her hand from Harley to repeat the same gesture on Peter. She strained to reach out and grab the box of tissues on the coffee table and set them beside her on the couch. It seemed as almost second nature to yank out two soft tissues and press them to Peter’s nose while instructing him to “blow”. When he seemed to run out of snot, Pepper wadded up the tissue and discarded it next to the box beside her. Then, she reached out to pull Peter flush against her once more, his tiny body molding around the baby bump, legs splayed across either side of her lap and head pillowed comfortably on her chest. She rocked, and hummed, rubbing his back, all just to calm him down and _hope_ he won't be scarred by whatever it was Tony had been careless enough to let him witness in that room. She wanted to slap the man silly… but at the same time, she understood.

****

“Did-did um…” Harley began tentatively, staring at Peter before dropping his voice into a soft whisper, “Did Tony kill him.”

****

Pepper smiled reassuringly at him, holding out her arm in invitation for him to scoot closer. The boy just looked so broken… he’d been strong too long and he just needed a little love. So, it was a relief when Harley didn’t hesitate to accept the comfort. Eagerly throwing himself at her with fresh tears bursting forth. He curled in close, tucking himself under her arm to cuddle into her side for comfort… just like he used to do with his mother. 

****

The tears just didn’t want to seem to stop once he had allowed them to escape earlier. The dam had broken from the surplus of emotion and now it was almost as if that dam were nonexistent… there was no need to be crying just because Pepper Stark offered him a hug. Heck, there had been no reason to cry after she left just because he didn’t want to be alone. He was… he was nearly grown… he could handle himself. He shouldn’t be crying like such a baby… Yet, he didn’t move away, simply tucking closer and gulping down several breaths of air to savor the tender moment he’s sure he won’t be experiencing again any time soon. He closed his eyes and relaxed, practically purring in contentment when her fingers danced gently through his hair.

****

“No, Honey,” Pepper whispered softly, removing her hand from his hair to wrap her arm around his shoulders and pull him closer. She kissed his head. “There are still a few important things he knows about that Tony doesn’t. Tony’s been really stressed lately… and do you remember those things you told me about? The things Tony, Rhodey, and Steve are always worrying about? Like Hydra and Ross?” Harley nodded. Pepper hummed, combing through his curls. “Well, Richard probably knows a lot of the answers to those things Tony’s been wondering about. It’ll probably be a little while before we see him again. He likes to work really hard, especially when it comes to protecting his family,” she squeezed both boys closer to her and smiled. “He needs to make sure everyone’s safe before he can relax again and it looks like Richard isn’t going to be very cooperative… so let’s take it easy on him for a while, alright?.”

****

Peter sat up abruptly, pushing away from Pepper’s hold, but remaining on her lap to stare at her firmly. “He say he gonna come up t’nigh’ t’ see me though, right?”

****

Pepper shushed him quickly when she saw the panicked tears begin to pool in his eyes. “Of course he will Sweetheart. He’ll come up tonight to see you before you go to bed, okay? Maybe even for dinner too. We’ll see.” A small smile inches across her face. “And if you ask sweetly he might let you sleep in our bed tonight, hmm?”

****

Peter nodded solemnly, slowly slumping against her once more. He strokes her belly softly and sighs, whispering a quiet hello to Morgan. 

****

Pepper stays a few more moments, cuddled up with her boys on their couch. She hums a couple of lullabies, busying both hands to comb through each of the boys’ soft curls, finding it oddly similar to her own husband’s head of unruly hair. Eventually, she finds herself smiling, noting all their small unique similarities to Tony, and picturing their life with two sons and their daughter on the way. It was a nice feeling… and these past few weeks have only solidified the belief that Tony would be an amazing father. 

****

She allowed herself the innocent privilege of dreaming. Dreaming of a life where neither Peter or Harley had to go through the hardships they have faced. Dreaming of holding them as babies, cradling them in her arms and listening to their happy laughter. She dreamt of waking up on late nights to find an empty bed… but instead of knowing Tony had disappeared downstairs, she would creep down the hall to find them in her little boys’ shared room. She pictured him curled up on Harley’s bed with a baby Peter sleeping soundly on his chest as he coaxed Harley to sleep with a soft lullaby, cradling the older boy beneath one of his arms. She dreamt of both Harley and Peter growing up together with Morgan, constantly bickering and wrestling, harassing Tony, following him down to the office, ordering men around to fetch them chocolate milk just because they could… but they always said please. She pictured Rhodey and Happy struggling to help Tony keep their three children under control as they ran around the Tower getting into all kinds of mischief that only the children of Tony Stark could possibly find… and she could see them all grown up. Tony was proud of them and so was she... The picture warmed her heart… but when she opened her eyes, reality hit her, and she sighed. 

****

“Okay babies,” She whispered softly, readying to stand from the couch by gently pushing both boys out of their comfortable positions, which unintentionally sent Harley vaulting away from her in an awkward panic, retreating back under the blanket to hide the embarrassment painted across his pale, freckled cheeks. Pepper sighed, and instead of commenting on the matter, she silently made it her goal to ease Harley into the affectionate and caring lifestyle he’d missed out on for so long. It may be impossible to experience the dream she had pictured, but it wasn’t too late to start making them into a real family. 

****

Peter, though, whines, when Pepper begins shifting him out of her lap and Pepper, shushes him gently with a kiss and a smile. “I need to go help Da-Tony,” she curses herself for nearly slipping up in such a horrendous manner. She could only imagine the chaos that a simple title would create... “Okay? You two keep each other company while I’m gone.”

****

She nudges a distraught Peter towards Harley, and the boy simply tears up as he reverts his gaze between her and the older boy. “Harley will take good care of you while I’m gone, and both me and Tony will come up to see you soon…” she trails off when she notes the odd way Peter was eyeing Harley. “Would you rather I have Happy come up and sit with you?”

****

Peter quickly shakes his head and slowly curled into himself, wrapping his arms around his knees to try and mimic the warmth he had received when in Pepper’s hold. At that, Pepper nearly found herself giving in and staying there with them, but then Harley was lifting his blanketed arm in a hesitant invitation as Pepper had done towards him earlier. Peter stared at him. Forehead puckered in saddened confusion, lip jutted out in a pitiful little pout.

****

Pepper watched as Harley’s eyes lowered insecurely and he slowly began to lower his arm, but Peter leapt forward, diving beneath the fringe of the blanket and scurrying to cozy up into his side. The blanketed arm lowered and Harley stared down at Peter with wide eyes as the boy curled closer, pillowing his head on Harley’s chest.

****

“Okay,” Pepper smiled. “Be good.” She stood from the couch with her arm wrapped securely around her abdomen. She took two steps and stopped to lean down and press a soft, loving kiss to Harley’s forehead. The boy’s eyes widened owlishly at her, and he blinked in surprise, but then Peter was popping up with a jealous frown and angry eyes focused in on Harley. He reached out for Pepper indignantly, eyes narrowed in a cute, yet angry manner. 

****

“Okay fine,” Pepper relented with a soft laugh. She reached over to give him another hug and press several kisses to his face. “I have to go now,” she pressed one last kiss to his forehead and pushed him back towards Harley, “be good for Harley, Sweetheart. Tell JARVIS if you need anything.”

****

Then she was gone, leaving the boys alone with the TV droning on as a fuzzy undertone of the tense silence between them.

****

Peter sat up from where he had comfortably settled himself against Harley and he stared seriously at the boy. “Does this mean we’re allowed to be friends now? Since my Daddy ain’t ‘round anymo’e?”

****

“Yeah kid,” Harley responded through a forced smile… and then the blaring silence returned, only interrupted by the worried shouts of the bakers on the TV. So, Harley took it upon himself-- being the oldest and the most mature-- to ease the tension. “Listen, Peter,” he began hesitantly, “I’m really sorry.”

****

“Fo’ what?” Peter questioned innocently.

****

Harley hesitated. “For… for letting Ricard do all those things to you and not telling anyone.”

****

“It’s ‘kay,” Peter insisted, “I fo’give you. Tony fixes it now.”

****

Harley smiled at that. “Yeah, he’ll fix it. He’s good at doing that, isn’t he?”

****

“Yep,” Peter grinned, far more lively than he should be after seeing his father in the aftermath of being tortured. “So dat means you don’ worry ‘bout your Daddy eider. Kay? Tony fix it too.”

****

Harley’s eyes widen and his mouth falls open in surprise before it clamps back together in an angry scowl.

****

“I don’t have a Dad anymore Peter,” he snapped darkly, avoiding the curious boy’s all-piercing eyes. He didn’t like how Peter seemed to know everything yet nothing at the same time. It was an irritating paradox.

****

“Oh,” Peter voiced, “he dead?”

****

“No. I just don’t have a Dad… I kinda wish he was dead though so I won’t ever gotta worry ‘bout seeing his stupid face again.”

****

Peter’s face puckered in confusion. “You jus’ say you didn’ have a Dad. How can you wish he died when he’s no’ real?”

****

Harley snickered and reached up to Peter’s hair. “You’re too smart for your own good, kid.”

****

“But I don’ unders’and!” He whined huffily, throwing his hands in the air to try and imitate an adult's way of expressing exasperation.

****

Harley smiled in amusement. “Okay. Well…  he’s my “father”, but not my “dad”. I disowned him a long time ago. He doesn’t deserve any title of endearment like that.”

****

“What d’ya mean? Dads and fathers are s’pposed to be the same.”

****

“Well, they are… but sometimes they aren’t. Dads don’t treat their kids the way my father treated me and my sister. We’re related by blood… and that’s it. He’s only my father in the most literal of terms.”

****

“What he do to ‘ou?” Peter questioned curiously, slumping forward against Harley like he was preparing for a bedtime story.

****

Harley wasn’t so sure he should share his childish traumas with Peter after the kid had to face down his own dad just a few minutes earlier. Heck, he didn’t want to share his feelings with the kid because who knew who he’d blab to. Next thing he knew, Tony would be busting into his room in the middle of the night, demanding to know everything of his father so he could hunt him down and slaughter him for all the terrible things he’d done… then again, Harley didn’t really see the harm in that happening. Either way… he didn’t think Peter needed to hear about those kinds of things. So, he settled with a safer option.

****

“Sorta like what your dad did to you.”

****

Peter didn’t say anything for a while as he slowly digested this new piece of information.

****

“So…” Peter began quietly, “my dad ‘s not my dad eider?”

****

Harley panicked. “No-no-no. That’s not what I said-”

****

“Escuse me! Yes, it is.” Peter argued… then his voice lowered into a soft whisper as he admitted something more. “Tony say he not my Dad anymore… you right…” but he didn’t seem very upset. He seemed more intrigued than anything else. “Hey, Harley?”

****

Harley looked at him nervously. Who knew what kind of can of worms he’d just opened.

****

“If our dads aren’t dads, what wou’d make them dads? What they suppose’ to do anyway?” Peter seemed genuinely confused by the whole concept, and Harley felt bad, because… the kid didn’t know any different from the twisted kind of love his father showed him. “I don’ like having a not real Daddy. I wanna real one.”

 

Harley panicked, and he stumbled over his words as he tried his best to explain things in a way the kid could understand. 

****

“Well, Dads are supposed to be kinda like Moms. They love you a lot.” He didn’t know any other way to describe it. “And-and there are tons of kids who get new Moms and Dads all the time. So maybe you could get some too if you wait.”

****

“Ohhh,” Peter nodded.

****

Harley smiled and poked him playfully in the stomach. “So you might still have time to get a good dad.”

  
“Cool!” Peter grinned. “I wan’ a new one righ’ now! How do I ge’ one? Do I gotta ask JAR’IS for one?”

****

Harley grinned at the kid’s cheeriness. “You have to find one silly.”

****

“Okay,” Peter nodded seriously, “how do I know I found one then?”

****

Harley shrugged his shoulders. “You’ll know. They’re supposed to be real nice. They won’t hit you or scream at you when they’re mad. They might raise their voice sometime when you do something stupid, but they’ll always forgive you. They give lots of hugs and kisses,” Harley grinned, knowing that would excite the kid. “They teach you cool stuff and they just… they love you for you… and they’ll do everything and anything to make sure you never get hurt, and that you’re always happy... and they’ll burn down the entire world to keep you safe.”

  
He glanced down at Peter to see an awestruck twinkle flicker through his eyes. “Really?” He whispered in awe.

****

“Yeah,” Harley grinned.

****

“How do you know so much ‘bout dads?” He questioned softly.

****

Harley shrugged his shoulders again. “I’ve seen a lot of movies, I guess. Dads always seem to act the same. The real dads _never_ hit their kids. _Ever_.”

****

Peter nodded, eyes cast down as he thought.

****

“Harley?” Peter questioned, looking up to narrow his eyes at the boy. “Are you messin’ with me? ‘Cause tha’s real mean if ‘ou are.”

  
“No!” Harley quickly spat out, “why would you think I’m messing with ya?”

****

“Well,” Peter sighed, face serious and eyebrow raised as if he were about to make a very important point. “If what you say is true then we gotta be brothers now cuz Tony’s our rea’ Daddy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that. And I hope it wasn't too much having Peter in the same room... but anyway. Thanks for reading, lemme know what you thought. I hope to continue updating on a regular basis.
> 
> So thanks for reading, can't wait to hear from you ;)


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These things just keep getting longer and longer. My Gosh.
> 
> Anyway... this chapter is probably one of my favorites so far. It's mostly mindless fluff, but the beginning does have a bit more torture and violence and stuff. So be warned.

Pepper walked into the room, nose wrinkling in disgust after getting a nasty whiff of the bloody stench that had grown stagnant in her husband's office. Her earlier frown turned down into a disgusted grimace as she looked down at the browning pool of blood that had seeped into the expensive carpet she had picked out. She will definitely have to force Tony to hire someone to deep clean the rugs because the smell was more than godawful. Or maybe it was just her crotchety senses being dramatic again. Either way, it took everything in her power not to gag as soon as she stepped into the room.  ****  
****

“Ugh,” she groaned, waving her hand in front of her face despite knowing it would do nothing to fix the smell.  ****  
****

Tony’s head snapped up to look at her. He smiled, releasing a dazed Richard Parker who he had been holding up with a strong hand fisted in his hair. As soon as the support of Tony’s hand had left, the man’s head fell limply against the old metal table he had been set up at. Bruce sat in front of him, working away, glasses on, and eyebrows furrowed as he busied himself by mindlessly splinting each finger on the man’s right hand. ****  
****

“Hey sweetheart,” Tony greeted, approaching her with an apologetic smile while he hurried to wipe the blood on his hands onto his black dress pants. “How’re the boys holding up?” ****  
****

“They’re perfectly fine,” she answered with a forced smile. “They’re probably watching a movie right now…” she gave him a look. “And Peter is pretty dead-set on you coming to see him before bed like you promised… and you told Harley we’d watch a movie too. You better finish this up sometime this evening. It’s too early to start breaking your promises to them. They need stability from this point forward.” Her stern glare left no room for objections. “Especially Peter… he’s no doubt going to demand your undivided attention tonight.” ****  
****

Tony chuckled, ignoring the underlying insinuation Pepper was making about their newfound relationships with the two boys and he reached out a hand to cup the side of her face, bringing her closer so he could press a soft kiss on her forehead. “I think I’ve just spoiled him with too many kisses. I shoulda known better than to give in to his demands so easy. I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to say no to ‘im.” ****  
****

Pepper grinned, pressing her forehead to rest against his. Tony wrapped his arms around her waist as an immediate response, hand grazing over her belly. “You’re a pushover, and I’m somewhat afraid that he’s going to eventually favor you over me because of it.” ****  
****

“You say that as if I’m not already his favorite.“ Tony grinned at her with that smug grin of his, pinching her ass playfully. Pepper scoffed and slapped at his cheek gently before looking over her shoulder towards Rhodey, who was preparing something at Tony’s desk. She took a step away from him and Tony released her from their embrace. ****  
****

“What’re you planning for him? You aren’t going to use that terrible anti-paralytic again, are you? Gosh, they always get so loud. It gives me a headache.” ****  
****

“Nope,” Tony smiled cheekily, nodding towards the needles on his desk that Rhodey was doing… something to. “Quite the opposite actually… I gotta wait for Bruce to concoct some more of that loveliness. Used most of his stash on an assassin last month. So, I decided to try out something new this time. I haven’t experimented with torture in quite a while.” He actually looked excited at the prospect and Pepper rolled her eyes at him. “Something I learned during my short time at the Ten Rings… hey, did you know that Hydra has control of the Ten Rings too? ” He narrowed his eyes at her suspiciously and she nodded her head without an ounce of shame. ****  
****

“Of course you do… we’re gonna have a serious talk after all this is over. There’s no way you know half the stuff you do just from the news.” He smiled and huffed when she smirked at him. “I can’t believe you… savin’ my ass without me even telling you that my ass needs savin’. You’re my knight in shining armor Potts,” he grinned, leaning in closer to whisper the last part in her ear. “I might show you how appreciative I am tonight.” ****  
****

He clapped his hands loudly before Pepper could respond and he spun back around, turning to face Parker, Bruce, and Coulson, who had come back after he ensured his people were secure with Happy and Natasha’s supervision on the lower floors. Then Tony glanced over at Rhodey laying out the last of the needles on the silver tray. He began removing the pair of latex gloves he had been wearing.  ****  
****

“Almost finished Honey-bear?” ****  
****

The man nodded, and carefully picked up the pallet of long needles, carrying them over towards the cold metal desk used for occurrences just like this. Of course, the torturing bit wasn’t typically done right in Tony’s office… but there was already blood everywhere so he didn’t think there was much harm in continuing. 

Richard sat slumped forward in his chair. Both hands extended and waiting to be strapped down to the table. ****  
****

“Great,” Tony nodded. “Honey, do you maybe wanna sit in my chair? You’ve been on your feet enough today already,” he guided Pepper behind his desk so she could sit down. He leaned down to whisper one more thing to her as he tucked a pillow behind her back. “I know you aren’t a big fan of all this stuff, so if you need to leave it won’t hurt my feelings one bit.” He pushed her hair behind her ear and pressed a quick kiss to the side of her head. ****  
****

Pepper craned her neck back to smile at him. “I’ll be fine,” she settled a hand on her stomach and Tony kissed her cheek once more before moving away.  ****  
****

Rhodey started tucking old towels around the table and Richard’s chair as Bruce finished up with his ministrations with both of Richard’s hands. ****  
****

“You spike him yet?” Tony questioned impatiently, peering over the man’s shoulder with one hand braced on the back of his chair and the other on flat against the table. Bruce nodded mutely with a small sigh. ****  
****

“With an unethical amount of adrenaline?” Bruce snapped with exasperation, “Yes. I haven’t numbed his other hand yet though.” ****  
****

“Great,” Tony smiled, ignoring Bruce’s jab… he had always been a goody-goody. “Lemme restrain him and you can get right on that. Don’t need him gettin’ any funny ideas once the drugs hit him.” ****  
****

It didn’t take much longer after that before the lights of the office had been dimmed by JARVIS and Richard was at attention, jittering uncomfortably in his seat with wide eyes snapping every which way. His chest heaved up and down with panicked breaths, but other than that… he remained abnormally pleasant. Coulson stood a few feet away from the desk, quietly observing like the emotionless creep he was, and Rhodes had left some time ago to go help Happy and Romanoff with getting Coulson’s men settled in for their temporary stay at the Stark Tower. ****  
****

“Well, Richard,” Tony began with the release of a heavy breath and a small smile, “you feeling any better?” ****  
****

“Fine as can be after my son’s been brainwashed by a psychopath.” Richard forced out through gritted teeth, glaring darkly…. Aaand just like that the nuisance was back. Tony knew it wouldn’t last very long. ****  
****

“Hmph,” Tony huffed indifferently. He picked up one of the slender pieces of metal Richard had been eyeing. The platter sat at the end of the table with 5 long, oddly shaped needles lined up neatly against the shimmering metal. “Y’know if you had really cared for him as much as you claimed, I feel that Peter would have made a different decision. It involved no brainwashing on my part.” He puts the needle back down, leaving it slightly askew, and folds his hands together. “But we aren’t talking about Peter anymore. I’m over that. There are a few other things I need to know about before I kill you. That’s all.” ****  
****

Richard’s lips pursed together tightly.  ****  
****

“Give me the exact compounded formula you’re using to develop your radioactive serum.” ****  
****

He can see Richard’s lips inch up in a half snarl, but his mouth remains clamped shut. ****  
****

Tony narrowed his eyes. “What is the chemical you injected into Peter? What were you testing for? Is it related?” ****  
****

More silence. Tony grit his teeth in annoyance. He always hated doing this part… it always made him angry because he didn’t have the patience to deal with uncooperative idiots. He preferred the whole “revenge” ploy where he didn’t have to refrain from killing someone just because he was lacking information. And knowing that Richard held the upper hand; knowing that he _knew_ Tony wouldn’t kill him until he told him what he wanted to hear… that irked him and he wanted nothing more than to make the man suffer because of it. ****  
****

“Okay. How about this? Tell me about the Ten Rings. Are you merging? Making a deal? In cahoots? Or was it all just an ill-fashioned rumor to get me kidnapped and out of the way?” ****  
****

Still nothing. He slammed his palms down on the metal table, looming over the man wearing an angry scowl. “I wouldn’t have ventured my sorry ass across the globe without a reason and Oscorp knows that, so you gave me one. Word must have just happened to get out that the Ten Rings killed my mother and father at the same time Obadiah set out to have me killed. I’m not an idiot Parker. Tell me what I want to know and I’ll put you out of your misery.” ****  
****

Richard narrowed his eyes in defiance. ****  
****

“Last chance,” Tony spat, “Tell me what you know about Hydra. What’s their plan? What’s _Oscorp’s_ plan?” ****  
****

Richard’s eyes flickered towards Coulson for just a moment, and Tony’s eyes narrowed. “He’s Shield… or so he claims. Is he lying to me? Or are you just confused with all the crazy signals goin’ off in your head? Here, I’ll make it easy.” Tony clears his throat. “Tell me about Hydra.” ****  
****

“Got to hell,” the man spat. ****  
****

Tony rolled his eyes and groaned. “Great… you’re gonna make this difficult. I really didn’t want to have to get my hands dirty again. After I wash them so many times they get dry and gross. I hate it.” He grimaces in disdain and picks up the longest needle. The tip is thin and sharp, but beyond the end, the skinny needle broadens with several thin fronds flayed around the metal. He grabbed ahold of Richard’s uninjured hand. “My wife hates the smell of blood… so this means I’m gonna have to wash my hands _and_ take a shower before I can go upstairs and tuck your son into bed.” Tony smiled. “I wonder what story he’s going to ask me to tell him tonight… I might teach him Little Piggies after all. I suppose it wouldn’t do that much harm until he’s old enough to understand. Although, he’s fairly bright for his age..” He rests the end of the needle right beneath the edge of Richard’s nail, pushing forward just before it splits the skin beneath the cuticle. Richard’s eyes were wide and his breathing labored as he watched Tony work with a practiced hand. ****  
****

“Speaking of stories,” he pushed the needle in, and it slid through his flesh smoothly. Richard didn’t so much as flinch. Not even when Tony gave a harsh tug on the needle so the small fronds could expand within his finger, keeping the long sliver of metal in place. “I remember getting this done to me back when I was kidnapped… It was actually a friend of Coulson’s over there,” he nodded towards Coulson with a smile. “Grant Ward. Ugh, that man was… scary. Wow, real scary let’s be honest. I mean... he had _me_ kinda creeped out. That’s gotta say something. But, yeah… really… I think it was the most creative form of torture I’ve ever experienced. Makes sense though… turns out he was Hydra all along… Hydra’s always been known for their unorthodox way of doing things.” ****  
****

The needle had been pushed in until only two inches were left peeking out from beneath the nail with blood smeared along the tip of his already swollen finger. Richard stared down it with a confused haze of awe. ****  
****

“Kinda weird isn’t it?” Tony laughed, gesturing down at the swollen, irritated skin surrounding the needle. “It’s always odd to not feel pain when you know you’re supposed to feel it. Sometimes your brain even starts making up pain to compensate.” He reached for the next sharp needle and slowly did the same to his next finger. He smiled, patting the man’s hand to convey a feigned curtain of comfort when he felt Richard’s hand jerk noticeably through the periodic tremors. Tony smoothed the pads of his fingers along the back of the man’s hand and tapped twice before forcefully driving in the needle and giving it a sharp tug. ****  
****

“See, here’s what happens,” Tony adds in a conversational manner as he moves to pick up the next one from the platter. “Bruce numbed your hand for about half an hour, and…” Tony lifts the last needle to examine it. “The length of the needle is laced in an anesthetic. That way you can’t feel any of the pain… yet.” ****  
****

He pushed in the last needle and looked up at Richard. “Crazy huh? Y’know I thought it was pretty smart what Ward came up with. I haven’t tried it out myself yet; haven’t really had the opportunity. So I decided that now’s a best time as any… soon the numbness will start to wear off and you’ll start to feel _everything_ you’re not feeling all at once… unless you tell me what I want to hear.” His eyes narrow in on Richard and he saw the man gulp heavily, eyes flickering, entire body twitching and sweating as he squirmed uncomfortably in his chair, but his mouth remained in a stoic frown. ****  
****

“I’ll reword it this time in case you didn’t understand… tell me _everything_ you know.” ****  
****

Richard responded by spitting in his face.  ****  
****

That, of course, made him angry. So he stabbed him… at least a couple times. He must have lost count. ****  
****

* * *

When Peter heard the familiar ding of the elevator, he scrambled.  His legs kicked wildly and his arms flailed as he fought against the invisible restraint of gravity pulling him further into Harley and the cushions. It was a mighty effort but he was eventually able to sit upright. His face split into an excited grin as he stood on wobbly feet. Two seconds later and Harley had a hand pushing against his face as Peter braced his palm against the boy so he could step all over him to cross his lap. His heels dug into the other boy’s leg as he staggered his way across Harley’s thighs, to perch himself on the arm of the couch. His smile only brightened when he spotted an exhausted Pepper and a stressed-out Tony stepping out of the elevator.  ****  
****

“Tony!” He cried out in excitement, arms reaching out towards the man as he came closer. Soon, Peter had lost all patience and vaulted himself off the couch when the man was within a close enough proximity to catch him. ****  
****

Tony caught him of course, wearing a pinched smile and tired eyes. He held him at a distance, arms clasped underneath his armpits as he carried him like a dirty rag doll in front of him. “Hey Squirt.” He took the last couple steps towards the couch and deposited the boy back onto the cushions beside Harley. “Listen… I’m kinda nasty, so I’m gonna go take a shower. Why don’t you boys help Pepper with dinner so we can eat? Then you can both get ready for bed and we’ll watch a movie like I promised. Sound good?” He adjusted his jacket lapels so it better covered the splatters of blood sprinkled all over his white shirt. Peter didn’t need to see any more blood today. ****  
****

Peter leaped for him again, arms wrapped tightly around Tony’s upper arm and shoulder as he tried to scale him. “No-no-no. Don’ go again.” ****  
****

Tony smiled and gently pushed the boy away. “I have to. Ms. Pepper doesn’t like me when I’m all smelly. I’ll be real quick. I’ll be back soon.” He sighed heavily and hooked his hands beneath Peter’s underarms once more to lift him off the couch and lower him back onto the ground. “Now skedaddle and help PepPep.” ****  
****

“Fine,” Peter huffed, stomping cutely towards the kitchen with a heavy pout and his arms crossed over his chest. Tony chuckled at the dramatics and turned around to begin his way down the hall towards his and Pepper’s bedroom. ****  
****

The boys both helped Pepper prep a simplistic dinner. Harley set the rarely used table for four, and Peter stood on a chair with a much-too-large apron tied around his waist to help stir the sauce for the spaghetti. So, by the time Tony was clean and smell-free, dinner was ready. ****  
****

He leisurely made his way into the main room, decked out in a black wife-beater and grey sweatpants. His hair was still damp, but he reveled in the feeling of a good, warm shower. It was always nice to wipe off the grime and blood from his body after an exhausting day’s work. Even _he_ felt a little drained after hours of torturing someone.  ****  
****

“Tony!” Peter cried out when he saw him, rushing towards the man with the apron still tied around his tiny body; the fabric barely brushed his toes when he stood. He crashed heavily into Tony’s legs, nearly making the man stumble backward, but Tony was able to stay upright. ****  
****

“Hey Buddy,” Tony greeted with a tired half-smile. He patted the kid’s head affectionately, but that was it… and Peter didn’t seem so happy about the lack of attention. He growled in annoyance and lifted his arms insistently. So, Tony rolled his eyes and gave in to his demands. He hoisted the boy wearing an oversized apron-dress off the floor so the kid was propped against his hip. Peter hummed in contentment, wrapped his arms around his neck, and settled his cheek on the man’s shoulder. Tony smiled, patted his back and walked into the dining room where Harley was helping carry the food to the table.

“Looks delicious you guys,” Tony praised. Harley set the dish of pasta in the center of the table and hurried to take a seat at the place-setting farthest away from the head of the table, staring up at Tony with his head angled down and his eyebrows raised. Tony frowned at Harley’s reaction to him. He had done so well dragging the boy out of his hard, stubborn shell, and he cursed himself thinking the kid had retreated back under it. Earlier he had hoped that Harley’s breakdown was only a heat of the moment response… but he didn’t seem to be over it yet (At least he _thought_ that’s what Harley’s new demeanor was about). Tony hoped it wouldn’t have a lasting effect on the comfortable relationship that had been slowly developing between them… but the scared, submissive posture the boy was displaying right now didn’t give him much hope. ****  
****

So Tony inwardly sighed to himself, smile softening and eyes downcast as he looked down at the kid. He raised his hand towards his head, nostrils flaring angrily when he saw Harley flinch away from him, but he settled the hand on the kid’s head a bit awkwardly anyway. The kid knew better than to think he was going to hit him, but knowing that didn’t make it hurt any less. “Thanks Kiddo. You’re a big help. I appreciate it.” Then, after a small, awkward hair ruffle, Harley’s mouth lifted in a small smile before he was snapping his head to stare down at his plate. It was hard to tell if it were embarrassment or nerves… he hoped it was just embarrassment. ****  
****

“‘M I big help too?” Peter questioned, lifting his head to poke at Tony’s cheek with his index finger. “I stirrt the sauce.” ****  
****

Tony turned his head to look at the boy and smiled. He leaned his head forward to press his nose to Peter’s and give him a quick Eskimo kiss. “Yes, a very big help. I’m so proud.” He lowered the kid down onto a chair to the right of his own at the end of the table and entered the kitchen to help Pepper with the last of the food. He carried in the heavy saucepan, and Pepper brought out a plate of warm garlic bread with a wide smile on her face. ****  
****

“Let’s eat up!” She grinned, taking the seat next to Harley, across from Peter, as Tony sat in his seat at the head of the table. Harley was a bit tentative to reach for the food at first, but then Pepper was piling pasta onto his plate and he eagerly began lathering the noodles with the red sauce Peter had helped prepare. Peter, of course, immediately grabbed two pieces of bread, one for each hand, and chomped down without hesitation. Pepper gestured with a nod of her head for Tony to serve Peter as she spoke to the boy sweetly. ****  
****

“How about you eat a little bit of spaghetti before you fill up on bread, okay Honey?” ****  
****

Peter shook his head defiantly ( _“don’t want psghetti”_ ), but Tony ignored it and placed a small helping of noodles and sauce on his plate anyway. “Listen to Pepper, Peter.” He instructed a bit snappishly without meaning to, reaching to pull the second piece of garlic bread from Peter’s tiny hand. ****  
****

After that, Peter silently ate his food, as did everyone else. Nobody spoke thanks to the large elephant lingering in the room, and, well… it was odd. It was the first time they had ever eaten all together, sitting around a dining table like a-- gosh should he say it-- _family_ . Tony didn’t quite know what he was supposed to do or say, and neither did the other two sitting around the table. Peter, however, remaining blissfully oblivious to the tension. He was too busy struggling with the long, slippery noodles. Eventually Tony had enough with watching Peter struggle, dropping several pieces of pasta on his lap after smearing sauce all over his face while trying to guide long, swinging strips of noodles into his open mouth with his head tipped back. So, Tony reached over and cut up the noodles into tiny pieces with his knife. ****  
****

Peter, being the polite child he was, thanked him enthusiastically and shoveled the forkful Tony had prepared for him into his mouth. After that, the room fell back into the deafening silence… until Peter had finished eating and immediately launched into a one-sided conversation about the cool robot movie he and Harley had watched together that afternoon. ****  
****

It was as if the entire room had taken a big breath of fresh air because everyone just seemed to relax as they nodded along to Peter’s exciting rendition of the cartoon movie. Before they knew it, everyone had finished eating and Harley had quickly offered to gather everyone’s plates and scampered off towards the kitchen.  ****  
****

“And then-and then the big bow’ing ball robo’ set up _donimoes_ !” ****  
****

“Wow, that’s so cool Peter.” Pepper nodded, cutting the boy off before he could go any further. She smiled and eyed the large mess the boy had created with his food. “I think you made a pretty big mess of yourself, so why don’t we get you cleaned up, huh?” ****  
****

Peter frowned and looked down at his shirt, which, by the way, was completely lathered in red sauce and stray noodles, along with his face and somehow his hair. ****  
****

“Tony, why don’t you give him a bath while me and Harley clean up from dinner.” Pepper suggested, pushing her chair away from the table. Tony stared at her, dumbfounded. ****  
****

“A-a bath? You want me to give him a _bath_ ? Why-why me? I don’t know how to do baths Pepper.” ****  
****

“Yes Tony,” Pepper smiled, casting him a knowing look as she slowly stood from her chair. “A bath. It’s not that hard. I can’t bend down long enough to wash his hair, and it _needs_ to be washed tonight. Now get going before he gets sauce all over my furniture.” ****  
****

Peter looked over at Tony with big wide eyes and Tony grimaced… he’d never given a kid a bath before. ****  
****

So, five minutes later, there he had found himself, helping a messy child step out of his pants and underwear. The bath was ready, so he stood, expecting Peter to go get into the water while he discarded the stained clothes into the laundry hamper. Instead, the kid made a beeline for the large cabinet next to the toilet. The kid grunted in his effort to pull the heavy door open. Then, before Tony could stop him, he pulled out a good-sized plastic bucket and dumped all its contents into the bathtub. Next thing he knew, fifteen minutes later he was kneeling next to the large bathtub with a clean, happy kid sitting inside it… and approximately a million and one rubber ducks surrounding him. ****  
****

“So…” Tony trailed off, reaching into the bubbly _(“a bubble bath Tony! A bubble bath!_ **_)_ ** water to grab one of the yellow ducks partially hidden in the large mass of white bubbles. “When did you get these, hmm?” ****  
****

Peter looked over at him from where he was playing around and splashing with two of the ducks. His bubble eyebrows rose, and he lifted a hand to touch his bubble beard as if to make sure it was still there. “PepPep got’em fo’ me so I can play when ‘appy comes up to give me a bath.” ****  
****

“I see,” Tony nodded with an amused roll of his eyes. “Just like she got you all those other toys littering my Living Room?” ****  
****

“Yep,” Peter grinned, turning back to play with the ducks by splashing them against the water.  ****  
****

Tony adjusted so he wasn’t kneeling against the hard tile. He sat down and braced his side against the tub. Peter had already been fully bathed and ready, but apparently ‘playtime’ was a very, very important part of the bathtime ritual that Tony hadn’t been informed about. ****  
****

“Look Tony,” Peter announced, scooting closer to the edge of the tub with a bearded duck raised up in his hand. “I named him Dony Duck,” he lifted up another duck with a red baseball cap and a red t-shirt, “and this one is Deter Duck.” He slapped the two ducks together and laughed when they bounced against each other. Then he started splashing through the water, scouring through the large mass of ducks and bubbles before picking out another two and lifting them for Tony to see as well. He lifted the first one, a female duck with earings on either side of its head. “This one is Depper Duck, she likes fancy stuff, see,” he tapped on the earrings then he dropped that one into the water and lifted the last one, which wore a pair of black sunglasses, “and this one is Darley Duck. He’s really cool.” ****  
****

Tony chuckled and bit his lip in amusement as he nodded along with the introductions.  ****  
****

“I named ‘em just now.” ****  
****

“Oh did you now?” Tony mused, “are they by any chance related to Donald Duck?” ****  
****

Peter scoffed at him as if he were the stupidest person on the planet. “Donal’ Duck ain’ real Tony.” ****  
****

“Sorry. My bad,” Tony nodded, suppressing a smile as the boy rolled his eyes in exasperation before turning back to his ducks. Tony reached into the water and pulled out another duck. This one had a hat and glasses and his duckbill was downturned in a mean frown. Tony found it hilarious and held it up for Peter to look at. He had a feeling at who this might be.

“Who’s this one Pete?” ****  
****

Peter frowned in contemplation as he looked at the duck. Then he reached out and took it from Tony’s hand to study it further. “He’s um… he’s Dappy. No!” He looks down at the other four he’d just named. “He’s Gappy Goose.” ****  
****

“Goose?” Tony laughed. “That’s not a goose.” ****  
****

Peter glared at him. “Well he can’t be Duck.” ****  
****

“What? Why not?” ****  
****

“He’s not… he’s not,” Peter frowned trying to explain his reasoning. “He’s not a Duck. He-he just a cousin or somethin’… He got ‘dopted by gooses though. Harley says that happens sometimes to kids with no moms and dads. So Gappy got ‘dopted by gooses. That’s why he a goose even dough he look like a duck. ****  
****

Tony humms, a soft smile spreading across his face, but he doesn’t look at Peter. Instead, he looks down at Deter Duck and picks him up out of the water.

“Hmm. Well is Deter by any chance adopted too?” ****  
****

“Yeah,” Peter nods solemnly, watching his hand as he swats at bubbles in the water, seemingly unaware of the huge implication behind his answer. “So was Darley.” ****  
****

Tony nodded slowly and placed the rubber duck back into the water. He all of a sudden felt very lightheaded. Not in a bad way. More out of the surprise and exhaustion mingling together to make a nasty stew in his head kind of way. So, he let Peter continue playing while he got himself together because Peter probably didn’t understand half of what he was saying.  ****  
****

 After another five minutes, Tony was ready for bathtime to be over. It wasn’t like he didn’t enjoy Peter’s company or anything, but he didn’t know how much longer he could sit on the tiled floor without suffering major consequences to his hips and back. ****  
****

“Hey, wanna make a deal?”  ****  
****

Peter looked over at him suspiciously. “Wha’ kinda deal?” ****  
****

“I’ll teach you the Rubber Ducky song if you agree to get out so we can get you dressed and get on with that movie.” ****  
****

Peter’s face scrunched up as he contemplated the offer.  ****  
****

“Okay. What’s the rubber ducky song?” Peter agreed ****  
****

Tony cleared his throat dramatically, looking around the tub for a plain old rubber duck. He picked it up from the water, rubbing away the suds and squeezed it. Sure enough, it squeaked.  ****  
****

He lowered his voice into an obnoxious drawl and started singing.  ****  
****

“Rubber Duckie you’re the one,” he sang dramatically. Peter giggled and splashed the water, smiling giddily up at Tony.  ****  
****

“You make bathtime so much fun.” Tony found himself smiling as he squeezed the duck to make it squeak.  ****  
****

“Rubber Duckie I’m awfully fond of you! (Woh woh be doh!)” Peter laughed maniacally at his funny voice as Tony continued singing and squeaking the duck. ****  
****

“Your turn,” Tony instructed through his own laughter, handing over the toy. Peter eagerly grabbed for it and squeezed it to make it squeak. ****  
****

His high-pitched voice rang out in the bathroom as he bounced along to the beat of the short song. 

“Rubber Duckie you’ da one!” ****  
****

“‘Ou make bat’time toh much fun!” ****  
****

“Rubber Duckie I’m lotsa fond o’ ‘ouuuuuuuuuu!” He finished off with a series of uncontrollable giggles, nearly falling backwards into the sudsy water. Tony caught him before he could go under, and he reached for the towel sitting on the counter. “I gotta teach ‘appy dat one!”

“Yep, it’s hilarious. Now, let’s get out quick.” ****  
****

Peter’s giggles dialed down and he pushed away Tony’s hands as the man tried to lift him out of the tub.  ****  
****

“Wai’-wai’-wai’ I gotta take out da toys for PepPep cuz she can’t reach in da tub an’ dey gotta get dry.” He giggled as he gathered an armful of ducks. He leaned over the side of the tub and released them, sending little yellow ducks bouncing and squeaking all across the tile floor at Tony’s feet, surprising the man into complete silence as he simply watches it happen in bewilderment. Then, Peter went back for more, gathering another armful of ducks and sending them falling over the side of the tub, several landing on Tony’s bare feet. Soon, the whole bath was cleared of ducks… and they were all over the floor. ****  
****

Tony simply gazed around the bathroom with a contemplative frown before turning back to the soap-covered kid already standing in the water. Peter held out his hands expectantly towards him. ****  
****

“Alrighty then,” Tony says, then his eyes fixate on the bubble beard and eyebrows Peter was still sporting. “Close your eyes quick,” he instructs, reaching down to scoop water into his free hand. Peter does as he’s told and his entire face puckers cutely as he squeezes his eyes shut. Tony chuckles and uses the water to wipe away the bubbles and Peter giggles against his hand. Tony adjusts the towel in his other hand quickly so he can dry Peter’s face before wrapping it around the kid and lifting him out of the tub. ****  
****

“Y’know,” Peter began as Tony carried him out of the bathroom, towards the kitchen, because he was basically clueless as to what he was supposed to do now and Pepper can tell him what to do next. At least he knew better than to dress the kid back in his dirty clothes. “Happy usu’ly gives me my baths… you’re lots more fun.” ****  
****

Tony laughed at that. “Well, I hope I’d be more fun than grumpy ol’ Happy.” ****  
****

“You are,” Peter assured him seriously, patting him on the shoulder. ****  
****

“Thank you,” Tony smiled. He soon found himself entering the kitchen to find Pepper and no Harley. ****  
****

“Hey, Pep,” he greeted, “where’d Harley go?” ****  
****

Pepper smiled at him and the towel-covered Peter propped against his hip. “I told him to go ahead and hop in our shower. Now, what’s this?” She cooed, moving forward to greet Peter with a tickle beneath his chin. “You’re all clean now. I barely recognized you without red all over you.” Peter giggled madly and wiggled in Tony’s arms before pressing his face into the man’s neck to escape Pepper’s onslaught of tickles to his own neck. ****  
****

“I know,” Tony joked. “There was so much sauce I didn’t think I’d ever be able to get it all out.” ****  
****

Pepper smiled at him and pressed a sweet, lingering kiss to his cheek. “You did a wonderful job Hon,” she smiled sweetly, hand subtly sliding down his lower back to rest right above the curve of his ass suggestively. He grinned deviously at her in response. ****  
****

“Hey!” Peter scolded, lifting his head to glare at the side of Tony’s face before turning to glare at Pepper in annoyance.  ****  
****

“What?” Pepper asked innocently, removing her hand from Tony’s rear.  ****  
****

Peter didn’t answer, he simply glowered, lips puckering and eyebrows furrowing into an extreme pout. Then it hit her, and she grinned. ****  
****

“What?” She teased, “are you jealous?” Then she leaned forward and pressed a soft kiss to his cheek as well. That seemed to appease him enough. He smiled sweetly at her and dropped his head back to Tony’s shoulder in such a way that he could still see her. ****  
****

Tony laughed outright and shook his head in amusement. Then, he turned to address Pepper. ****  
****

“What do I dress him in? His old clothes are covered in spaghetti.” ****  
****

“Oh!’ Pepper jolts, “C’mon, I’ll go get some.” ****  
****

Tony follows her down the hall, into their room. He vaguely registers hearing the shower running in their master bathroom as he watches Pepper approach their large dresser across the room. She pulls open one of her drawers, which had apparently been replaced and filled with an abundance of child clothing. She sifts through a folded stack of clothes, chatting about moving the clothing into the guest room that had unofficially been appointed as Peter’s once they moved his toddler bed into it after the third night of Tony finding a small toddler sprawled across his side of the bed. Tony just stands there, watching in both amazement and bemusement… he didn’t know how he hadn’t noticed a child’s wardrobe being moved into his dresser. Although, it really shouldn’t be a surprise. There were rubber ducks in the spare bathroom, Legos on his coffee table, and Dr. Seuss books lined up beside the various physics books in his office. ****  
****

Then he was being instructed to set Peter on their bed. So, he did, and he stepped out of the way to let Pepper take over in helping Peter step into his pajamas… _he_ had done the bath after all. ****  
****

While she did that, Tony heard the water for the shower turn off and he was, again, hit with the domesticity of that moment. One child was being dressed by his pregnant wife, and the other had finished his shower in their room because the spare bath had been occupied by him and a toddler surrounded by bright yellow rubber ducks… and soon they were going to watch a movie together-- probably some animated Disney movie-- and Peter would no doubt insist on being tucked into his bed either with a bedtime story or no bedtime story depending on if the boy was too tired to think about asking for one.  ****  
****

It all hit Tony like a ton of bricks, and he found himself panicking, right there in the middle of his bedroom.  ****  
****

It just didn’t feel right… he had spent nearly the entire afternoon torturing a man, and now he just comes back upstairs to this lavish, familial lifestyle which just so happened to include his victim’s son? They had eaten dinner together, he had bathed a kid! Pepper was dressing a kid! A kid who had unknowingly insinuated that he and his wife had adopted him and this other random kid! He was taking care of two KIDS! He was about to go watch a childish movie with two. Random. Kids. He and Pepper weren’t parents yet… these weren’t their kids. He wasn’t supposed to be this lucky. Bad people shouldn’t be gifted a life like this. Things only ever turned out worse when they do. ****  
****

This needed to stop before it got out of control. ****  
****

“Tony?” ****  
****

His head snapped up and he immediately stopped the pacing he had picked up during his mindless panic when he heard the excited voice of the little boy he had at some point become attached to. He didn’t even know when that had happened. It just… it just _happened_ . ****  
****

“Tony.” He spoke again, looking at him expectantly, standing at the foot of his and Pepper’s bed with his arms raised out towards him. Pepper smiled at him and stepped out of the way. Then despite Tony’s conscious insistence that this was _not a good idea_ , he still found himself gravitating towards the kid out of pure mechanical instinct… it still felt wrong. ****  
****

He was picking Peter up and accepting the tight hug the boy offered when the door to the master bathroom opened. All three turned their heads to look at the bewildered teen that had stepped out, with steam pouring from the room in waves around him.   
  
“Oh,” Harley said, reeling back a bit in surprise at everyone gathered in the room. “Didn’t know y’all were out here.” ****  
****

Tony forgot about his earlier dilemma entirely as his mind focused in on the teen. He slowly eyed the kid up and down with Peter now propped comfortably on his hip. ****  
****

“Why are you still dressed in the clothes you wore all day?” ****  
****

Harley’s head snapped down to look down at the old shirt now clinging to his damp skin. “Oh-uh… I don’t really… I don’t have any clean clothes up here.” ****  
****

Tony eyed him. ****  
****

“You should have asked JARVIS to have Happy send you up a pair of your pajamas.”  ****  
****

“I don’t have any pajamas, Mr. Billionaire,” Harley argued with a hint of snark in his tone. “I always sleep in my dirty clothes. I usually shower in the mornings.” Tony, of course, didn’t show it, but he was happy to know that he hadn’t lost the snarky boy completely. He saw the way Pepper shot the kid a pointed look, and the teen immediately sighed and stood down from his defensive stance. Tony simply ignored it and instead, rolled his eyes and moved towards the large dresser Pepper had been digging through moments earlier.  ****  
****

“You should’ve asked JARVIS or Happy to order you some.” He sorted through one of his drawers with one arm, eventually pulling out an old, faded band t-shirt and a pair of black sweatpants. “These will be kinda big on you’re skinny as hell body, but they should do the trick for tonight. We can’t have a pajama party if you aren’t wearing your pajamas.” ****  
****

He offered the kid a small smile as he held the clothes out to him, and he was pleased to see the small smile that grew across the kid’s face as he accepted them. ****  
****

“Great. Go get dressed and meet us in the Living Room, kay?” ****  
****

Harley quickly nodded and retreated back into the bathroom, and Tony hauled a chattery Peter to the Living room with Pepper following closely behind. ****  
****

"I'm definitely going to send someone out to fetch him some new clothes." He announced to Pepper during their trek down the hall. She hummed in agreement. ****  
****

"Yes, he does need new clothes. I've seen him wear that same shirt about four times… but I think he'd enjoy it if he were able to pick out his clothes himself instead of you having someone else do it." ****  
****

Tony shrugged his shoulders and nodded. "I suppose. I'll just let him pick out some things online and have it delivered." He heard Pepper sigh in exasperated amusement and he craned his head to the side to look at her. "What's wrong about that?" ****  
****

"Nothing," she laughed, "I guess I was just trying to hint at you letting him leave this Tower. It's not good for a teenage boy to be locked away in a huge skyscraper filled with criminals. I think he'd enjoy going out and doing menial, boring things like a normal person. It would be good for him; get him reacquainted with society." ****  
****

Tony frowned and their pace slowed as they entered the living area. He glanced down at Peter who was entertaining himself with a string poking out from Tony's collar. "I don't think I'm comfortable sending him out with any of the guys-" ****  
****

"Why don't you take him then?" Pepper questioned with a challenging lift of her brow. Her arms crossed over her chest and tony gaped. ****  
****

"What?! No." He felt Peter shift to look up at him as well. "I'm not taking a kid out in public to go shopping. Do you have any idea how many people are trying to kill me? That's just asking for trouble." ****  
****

"Why?" Peter questioned earnestly before Pepper could jump in. ****  
****

Tony looked at him. "'Cause it just is." ****  
****

"I think he'd enjoy it is all I'm saying…" Pepper trailed off and shrugged her shoulders. Then she veered off into the kitchen with a graceful spin on her heel. “I’m going to pop some popcorn.”  ****  
****

Tony grumbled to himself and headed for the couch with Peter in tow. The idea had now been planted in his head. Sometimes he hated himself for marrying a grifter. She could manipulate him into doing just about anything without him realizing it until it was too late… He couldn’t even begin to count the number of times Pepper had nonchalantly planted a small idea into his head, only for it to cultivate and evolve into an action that she had wanted him to perform. She was damn good at her job that was for sure. ****  
****

But he wasn’t about to be so easily tricked this time around.  ****  
****

He dropped Peter haphazardly onto the cushions first, which elicited a small giggle from the boy as he scrambled to sit upright. Tony fought against a smile and plopped down next to him. He should have expected it too, but the next thing he knew Peter was climbing onto his lap. Legs thrown over either side of his thighs, eyes alight with mischief as he tugged on the fabric of his tank top.  ****  
****

Peter bounced delightedly, reaching up to pet Tony’s beard with a gentle hand. “What we gonna watch?” ****  
****

“What _are_ we gonna watch.” Tony corrected without thinking. He reached out a hand and braced it on the child’s waist to still his bouncing, and Peter stared at him. ** **  
****

“What are we gonna watch.” Peter amended, hand dropping from Tony’s face to grab the hem of his shirt once more. He tugged and laughed, then he tugged and laughed again. Then he hooked two tiny fingers into his sleeve and snapped the fabric against his shoulder. He laughed again. He moved to the collar and Tony could tell this was the start to an endless cycle so he grabbed his wrists and told him to stop with a poke to the side. Peter only laughed harder and buckled at the waist to protect his sensitive stomach against the onslaught. ****  
****

“We’re going to wait for Harley to make a decision.” ****  
****

“Okay,” Peter relented, shrugging his shoulders and slumping forwards like a limp rag doll as if all life had suddenly been sucked out of him. The change in energy was drastic and dramatic, and Tony already felt exhausted. ****  
****

Tony released a surprised ‘oomph’ when Peter’s bodyweight collapsed against his front, and he lifted his hand to pat Peter’s back without a second thought. Then, Harley walked in, both hands clutching the fabric on his hips as he rushed into the room. ****  
****

“Um-um Boss?” He began with a bit of hesitation as he approached. ****  
****

“What’s wrong?” Tony asked, sitting up slightly. ****  
****

“Um-um, well… the pants are kinda big. They keep fallin’ off and there’s no drawstring to make it tight.” ****  
****

Tony chuckled under his breath and made a gesture for him to come closer. “C’mere I’ll fix it.” He leaned forward, Peter’s body following his movement without protest as if the kid were glued to him. ****  
****

Harley inched closer and as soon as he was within reach Tony grabbed onto one of the bunches of fabric he was clutching. ****  
****

“I’m just gonna roll up the waistband,” Tony narrated as he reached his other hand around to lift Harley’s shirt enough so he could grasp the fabric of the sweatpants. He rolled the fabric until the sweats settled snugly around Harley’s hips. Tony finished by clapping him once on the side then leaned back into the couch. “We need to start feeding you more; fatten you up. You’re as skinny as a twig.” ****  
****

Harley chuckled softly under his breath and climbed onto the couch, backing into the corner he had been settled in nearly all afternoon. ****  
****

“What movie are you feelin’ tonight, Sprout?” ****  
****

“Ugh,” Harley groaned, throwing his head back in annoyance. Hr didn't know how Tony found out about the nickname. “I don’t know.” ****  
****

“I know! I know!” Peter announced excitedly, sitting up from his slouch to look at Tony's face. Tony glances down at him and the boy doesn't hesitate to voice his opinion. “Robin Hood!” ****  
****

“Oh that’s a wonderful movie,” Pepper announces, coming into the room with a large popcorn bowl. “Peter and I watched that together last week, didn’t we Peter?” ****  
****

“Yeah! PepPep said he's like you!” Peter nodded excitedly, reaching out to grab some popcorn as Pepper sat down next to Tony. Tony shot Pepper a look and she winked back at him while she tossed a piece of popcorn into her mouth. Then she pressed a piece against his lips and after a couple of moments, he opened his mouth to accept her offering.  ****  
****

"You're a menace," he whispered, leaning over to kiss her softly on the lips. Then he pulled away and grabbed a handful of popcorn. ****  
****

“How’s that sound kid?” Tony asked, turning to look at Harley huddled under his blanket. ****  
****

“Sounds good,” he answered blankly, avoiding Tony’s eyes and instead focusing on the blank screen of the TV. ****  
****

So, Tony yawns quietly and reaches over to grab the remote so he could cue up the movie. He casts a glance towards Harley, who’s huddled up into the corner of the couch looking put off and worried as he stared at the television screen. ****  
****

Pepper settles in close to his side, which averts his attention away from the kid. She leans against his arm and reaches up to brush a hand through Peter’s soft hair. Peter hums contentedly, smiling a lazy smile as he shifts in Tony’s lap so he could face the TV. Tony smiles without will, wrapping his arm securely around the child’s waist and hugging him close to his chest. ****  
****

The famous sound of the Disney castle lighting up interrupts the tender moment and Peter excitedly wiggles in anticipation. Pepper’s hand falls from Peter’s hair and her arm wraps around the boy’s waist as well, overlaying Tony’s arm so she could intertwine their fingers and rest her head on his shoulder. The three of them remain like that for the entire movie even though it didn’t take long for Peter to fall asleep. ****  
****

The movie ends and Tony cradles him like a baby and stands from the couch. At some point, he starts rocking the kid in his left arm while he reaches his right out to help Pepper off the couch as well.  ****  
****

“I’m going to head to bed,” she yawns. Then, she leans forward and kisses Peter’s forehead softly. Tony rests his hand on her back and smiles as she shifts away to lean down and kiss Harley’s head as well. The teen’s eyes widen like a surprised puppy and Pepper brushes the back of her hand along his cheek. “I’ll see you in the morning Honey. Get some sleep for me, okay?” She finishes by clearing away the hair that had fallen into his eyes. ****  
****

Harley nodded mutely and watched as Pepper waddled her way down the hall, towards the master bedroom. Then there was a strong hand wrapping around his upper arm and hefting him off the couch. It was Tony. Of course it was Tony. ****  
****

“C’mon Sprout. It’s bedtime.” ****  
****

Harley scowled and pulled away from him with a jerk of his shoulder. “I’m not a baby. I don’t have a bedtime.” ****  
****

Tony’s face falls into a frown and his eyebrows lower in a challenging way as he focused on Harley. “When you’re sleeping under my roof you do. Now let’s go.” ****  
****

Harley rolled his eyes and groaned. “Whatever.” He muttered, spinning on his heel to march towards the guest room Peter’s toddler bed had been recently moved into. He didn’t get very far though, because soon the same strong hand was wrapped firmly around his bicep and spinning him back around. ****  
****

“In case you didn’t know this kid, I don’t put up with that kind of disrespect. So, you wanna maybe try that again?” ****  
****

Harley’s scowl drops into an odd frown fidgeting between worry and distaste. “M sorry,” he whispered quietly, head bowing to stare at his feet. The boy quietly cursed himself, knowing he definitely went too far. The man showed him so much kindness… and he wished that he’d just _stop_ because now he craves it and he doesn’t think he’d be able to pick himself back up again if all this love and kindness is torn away from him after he's let himself grow so used to it. He knows he doesn’t deserve the kindness… and the more he receives from both Pepper and Tony, the more he's starting to realize that Peter had a valid point in what he said earlier. ****  
****

Tony chucks him gently under the chin and Harley’s head snaps up quickly in an effort to do anything he can to please the man. He may say he wants the kindness to _stop_ , but he doesn't. He really, really doesn't.  ****  
****

Tony’s eyes close as he sighs softly and his hand lifts to cup the side of Harley’s head. “I’m sorry too kid. I know today’s been kinda tough on you… I sometimes forget that your still a kid and I need to be a little less… harsh with you-” ****  
****

“No you don’t sir,” Harley quickly interrupted, “I can take it. I've told you this. I’m old enough… I mean- you’re-you’re already my Boss so you should boss me 'round like everyone else, right?” ****  
****

Tony chuckles under his breath. Because yes… he remembers the many occasions Harley has attempted to prove his worth to him. Albeit, his opinion on what the kid should or should not do has never actually changed, but Harley didn't need to know that. “Sure Kid. Now let’s get to bed, hm? It’s getting kinda late.”  ****  
****

Tony guides him down the hall with a hand between his shoulder blades, even following him into the room.  ****  
****

Harley finds himself stumbling over what to say. Did the man think he needed to be tucked in like a _child?_   ****  
****

“I-I’m fine sir. I don’t need to be tucked in. I’m not a baby.” ****  
****

Tony hummed noncommittally and smiles to himself. “Who said I was here to tuck you in? I need to put this leech somewhere y’know.” He gestures down towards Peter still cuddled in his arms and Harley stares at him, tongue growing bigger in his mouth in embarrassment. Why would he ever think Tony Stark might want to put him to bed. It's ridiculous to even think because he's 14 years old and their relationship is nowhere near the closeness between the man and Peter. So yeah, stupid… but totally a relief, right? Because he didn't need to be tucked in. He wasn't a child. ****  
****

“Well-um. I thought he was sleeping with you and Pepper tonight. He’d said he wanted to.” He spoke in a tentative whisper as he slowly made his way towards the double bed that had been pushed to the side to make room for Peter’s bed.  ****  
****

Pepper had said she was going to try and have Tony clear out the study, next door to the nursery, so they could put the spare bed in there. She hinted at that becoming _his_ room, but he didn't really take it to heart. He knew Tony probably didn't want two-- almost three-- kids always hanging around his home. Tonight was just gonna be a rare exception. ****  
****

“Well, what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him,” Tony responded, bending down to lower Peter onto the mattress. ****  
****

Harley sits up on the bed across the room, legs crisscrossed as he watches Tony and Peter closely. He watches as Tony carefully tucks the comforter around Peter’s tiny shoulders, and he continues to watch as Tony smooths the wild curls away from Peter’s face. He finds himself wishing that he was a four-year-old too for a quick moment, but then quickly shuts it down with a barrage of self-deprecating insults and scoldings. ****  
****

Then Peter wakes up. ****  
****

His little nose twitches first, and his eyes slowly blink open and focus in on Tony. ****  
****

“Tony?” He questioned, reaching his arm up towards the man as he uses his other to rub his eyes. ****  
****

“Yep, it’s me. Time for you to go to bed.” Tony fixes the comforter around him again and grabs hold of the tiny fingers outstretched towards him. Peter yawns big and cute. ****  
****

“Wanna s’eep with ‘ou ‘n PepPep.” ****  
****

Tony tried his best to reason with him. “We just lugged this bed up here for you Bubba. Let’s try it out for one night and see how it goes, yeah?” ****  
****

Peter grunts in annoyance and shuffles to fold his hands over his stomach above the comforter. “Fine.” He looks up at Tony intently. “‘ou killt ‘im yet?” ****  
****

Tony inhales sharply and clears his throat. He reaches out to brush away Peter’s curls to distract himself. He hopes Peter won’t have any nightmares about it tonight. ****  
****

“Not yet buddy.” ****  
****

“Ok,” Peter nods solemnly, turning his head away from Tony. “That mean ‘ou can’t be my new Daddy yet?” ****  
****

Tony actually chokes at that one. “What?!” ****  
****

Harley sits up ramrod straight in his bed, eyes wide as he stares over at Peter, shaking his head wildly because this couldn’t possibly be happening! ****  
****

Peter frowns up at Tony, his eyebrows furrowing in frustration. "Can't be 'dopted 'till my Daddy now isn't my Daddy. Harley say he not, but I wanna be sure jus’ in case. You my new Daddy though. Didn't 'ou know?” He questioned, looking legitimately perplexed that Tony wasn't aware of their new relation. “Ha’ley say our Daddies aren’t real Daddies, and that you’re our real Daddy now 'cause you love us.”  ****  
****

Tony’s heart jumps into his throat. ****  
****

“I did not say that! He took that completely out of context!” Harley shouts, jumping from his bed to rush across the room. “I didn’t say that I swear!” ****  
****

Tony’s face doesn’t relax. His eyes remain wide and his mouth stays dry as he looks between each child. “Ex-excuse me? I’m what?” He still couldn't quite get past _that_ part. ****  
****

“You’re our Daddy,” Peter states again with an air of confidence, “Ha’ley said so.” ****  
****

“I did not you little brat!” Harley moves closer to the bed with a threatening growl, glaring menacingly down at the tiny boy. “You’re a liar!” ****  
****

“M not!” Peter shouts venomously. “Tony ‘s esatly what you say a Daddy is!” ****  
****

“Okay, okay that’s enough,” Tony placates through a large huff. He reaches out to push Harley away from the bed with a firm arm and focuses in on Peter. ****  
****

“Petey, um…” He’s startled by the loud slam of the bedroom door. He turns to find a closed door and no Harley. He feels instant guilt, but Peter grabs onto the collar of his shirt and tugs so his attention is focused on him once more. ****  
****

“You love me right Tony?” Peter questions innocently. ****  
****

“Uh… well-” ****  
****

“‘Cause I love you. I love you more than my Mama loved me… which is a whole lot.” ****  
****

Tony’s heart is hammering and his mouth is now clumping with sticky saliva. ****  
****

“Y-yeah um. Yeah, Pete. I guess I do.” ****  
****

Peter grins, lifting both arms towards him. So, Tony humors him and hugs him. Peter wraps his arms around his neck and nuzzles into his cheek. “You ‘eally are my Daddy. I don' wanna wait for my fat'er to be gone. I love you.” ****  
****

Tony clears his throat awkwardly, unsure of how to respond, but Peter just blinked up at him and smiled.  ****  
****

“G’night Daddy.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, so... I have a few announcements that I'm excited about. 
> 
> First things first. I know this chapter is kinda just a way to pacify and indulge my sweet fluffy needs, but I plan to develop the plot a bit more in future chapters. Maybe not the next one exactly, but there will be at least a little bit to go ahead and get stuff moving in the right direction. All these chapters I was kinda just me getting a feel for the story and characters in general, and I think I know what I want to do with it now.
> 
> Which brings me to my second point. This is the first part of a three part series (god the thought of that kind of commitment makes me wanna gag. Yuck! Fingers crossed). I have a lot planned and my hope is to include all of it... because there is so much I can do and it's really so exciting what I have planned. I have the next two titles planned out as well, which might give you a hint as to what might happen. I won't tell you unless you ask cuz I don't wanna spoil it for anyone. By the way things are looking right now a lot of people might think it'd be dumb to base three long fics on one plot, but trust me when I say this (as a hardcore Tony Stark IronDad fan) if I can stick to it, the end result will be absolutely epic.
> 
> Okay, another thing (I know, I know. This is a lot. Just bare with me for a moment). I have never done a project this huge... The longest fic I've ever done is a little less than 200k and it I barely finished it. So I request your patience and that you put faith in my OCD to not leave things unfinished. That being said. Any encouragement or ideas to offer would be lovely. 
> 
> And Lastly, which may very well be the most important... is this even worth it? Would it actually be worth my time to pursue this? Be honest with me. Cuz I don't wanna write this whole long thing if nobody thinks a story based off an AU like this would be interesting. So let me know.
> 
> Alright, I'm done. I know that was a lot. I just needed to put it all out there. Lemme know your thoughts about it :) And thanks everyone so much for reading, especially if you made it to the end of these ridiculously long chapter notes. Love and Kudos to you for your dedication. Thank you so much.


	18. Chapter 18

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I know I said more plot... and there is! There is a bit more plot... just not a lot. I got distracted alright! DX I told you guys I get distracted easy, so here's some more fluff/hurtcomfort,

_Tony’s head falls into her lap, lungs burning from the repressed whimpers scratching roughly at his throat._

_“You’re going to be absolutely amazing Tony,” she hummed with a smile as she carded her fingers through his soft hair. “You’ll tackle fatherhood like you do everything else: perfectly. And the fact that you’re scared shitless that you might mess up is a good sign. That means you’ll do everything you can not to mess up.” She felt another tear fall onto her bare thigh. “Do you think Howard was ever this worried about being a bad father to you? Do you think he sat in bed and cried because he was worried you would hate him?”_

_Tony shook his head and Pepper smiled, tucking a small tuft of hair behind his ear._

_“Of course not. He wouldn’t have done the things he did to you and your mother if he had. He didn’t love like you, Tony. He didn’t know how. You’re already better than him, Honey. You’re better than him at everything you’ve ever done. You’ve proven to the world time and time again that you are_ **_better_ ** _. You are a better man than he could ever be. Why is this going to be any different?”_

 _  
__“I-I don’t know Pep,” Tony whispered hoarsely. “All I know about being a dad is… it’s-it’s bad. It’s all bad. I don’t know how to be good. I just-- what if-- what if I can’t help it? I can’t-- they’re gonna hate me. I know it Pep. I do.”_

_“No, they won’t Tony,” Pepper soothed, “they won’t. I promise. They’ll love you even if you mess up every once in a while because that’s what a family does. We love each other.”_

_Tony rolls over so his face is pressed up close to her stomach. He reaches up a hand to stroke her flat belly through the fabric of her shirt. He smiles softly and tucks his head closer to press a quick kiss to her stomach, right above the waistband of her sweatpants._

_“I love ‘em already Pep. I do. So, I’m-I’m gonna try…”_

_“That’s all I’m asking Baby.”_

Tony recalls the memory with a fond smile as he leans back against the door of Peter’s closed bedroom door. It calms his erratic breathing and he can feel a wave of relief wash over him at the reminder of his wife’s kind words from years prior. The situation is so strangely similar and his fears are all the same. He doesn’t cry though; not like he did that night. There was no dry heaving or full-body tremors because this time was different, right? There is no reason to be afraid of the daunting responsibilities of fatherhood. Peter is probably just confused like any other four-year-old would be when it came to complicated situations like this. And he shouldn’t panic anyway. There was no threat of danger, so there was no reason to be scared. He _shouldn’t_ be scared because of a few ignorant words of a four-year-old; he’s _not_ scared.

But he still doesn’t think he’ll ever be able to forget that night. It was the first time Pepper had ever seen him cry… it was the first time he had ever felt such an all-encompassing sting of pure terror; something he hadn’t experienced since he was a young child. It was an unfamiliar sensation that had his heart palpitating against his chest like a jackhammer. The fear of becoming what his father had been had seemed far more powerful than the fear of all the terrible things he’s seen in life. He could laugh in a man's face as he hung limply by his hands, absorbing beatings and bullet wounds, teeth being pulled, and fingers on the verge of snapping in half, and still be hardheaded enough to spit a disgusting glob of blood in their face. He'd done it before. Yet, the fear of having the one thing he loved the most in the world to hate him as much as he had his own father was so much more unbearable than the worst torture he'd ever experienced. The fear of-of losing control… the fear of doing something that he would regret. It had sent him spiraling into a blind panic because he just _couldn’t_ wrap his mind around it. Around _the thought_ of inflicting pain onto the one person he was supposed to love and cherish for the rest of his life.

It was the prospect of innocence. The idea that a tiny, innocent human being would rely on him, trust him, and love because it didn’t know better than not to hate him. Just like Peter… he hadn’t known he hated his father until he experienced what love and care were supposed to be and was taught right from wrong so he could come to the realization that everything he’d known in his short life was _wrong_. That he had been tricked and manipulated into thinking that cruelty was simply an eccentric form of love.

And-and Tony… he really wasn’t any better than Richard Parker.

Heck, he was exactly the same. He’s a criminal, a murderer, drug dealer, evil scientist, loan shark… he was psychotic; deadly. He killed and he killed and never felt any remorse for the lives he had taken. So who was to say the same wouldn’t happen when it came to his child. Who’s to say his father and Richard hadn’t started the same way as him: dead set on being good… and then life caught up to them. Who’s to say he wouldn’t lose his temper and lash out? No child should be raised by a man like himself. No child should look up to him like that. They shouldn’t be raised in the environment he thrived in. He was cruel and selfish… and Pepper loved him too much to admit to herself that he’s a bad person; always has been and always will be. He knows a thousand different ways to kill a man... Possibly killed that many too. He was _bad_. Bad for a child. Bad for Harley. Bad for Peter. Bad for Morgan...

The rapidly increasing declarations of self-contempt reminded him of the argument that had ensued in his head after Pepper had told him she was pregnant the first time. He remembered the late nights spent pacing and muttering to himself in his office when his wandering mind wouldn’t allow him to sleep peacefully through the night. He had debated having the child put up for adoption after he was born, potentially pitting them off onto a civilian couple worthy of his child’s untainted love. He had known it would devastate Pepper…known it could have even potentially driven her away from him forever, but he just didn’t think he could- he didn’t want to risk ruining them the way his father had ruined him.

The internal debate had continued for months. It consumed him at all turns. He couldn’t sleep; couldn’t function. He drowned himself in work. He searched for the bad people, hoping if he could cleanse at least a little bad out of the world, the good could balance out his bad and it wouldn't matter so much… the logic hadn't made sense but he still continued killing and killing and killing over and over and over. Child molesters, rapists, abusers, murderers, human traffickers, liars and cheats, corrupt rich men, and several petty criminals he would find while walking down the street after a long night. He killed so many, but it hadn't been enough to ease his guilt of existing. So, he soon found himself plastered or stoned more often than not. That continued until Pepper was kidnapped by Aldrich Killian, a man seeking revenge for Tony’s righteous deeds in outing his human experimentation to the authorities after the man had gone far enough to experiment on a _child_. An innocent child. The man had been lucky Tony hadn't gotten to him first… he should have killed him instead of shown him such kind mercy...

So, in retaliation, the psychotic man took Pepper from him, plucked her off the street during her morning walk like she was a flower. Her and the baby. His baby. The baby boy that would have been his son had he been paying better attention to the life outside of his own bubble of self-hate. 

Tony felt his throat tighten at the awful memory, and he pressed a hand to his face. He remembered that it wasn’t until the moment Rhodey had burst into his office to break the news of what had happened that Tony finally made his final decision regarding his son. He had been scared; terrified; petrified. He was terrified that he would never see his wife again; that he would never get to hold his son in his arms. That moment of pure terror had cemented his decision. The idea of being without him was too much to bear. He loved him, he wanted him here with him and Pepper, bouncing in his crib first thing in the morning, wearing a bright smile when his young eyes landed on him in the doorway. He loved his son, and Aldrich had taken him; him and Pepper. So, after his short panic, the terror was soon written over by a fit of protective anger and Tony screamed, shouted, and hollered orders as he marched through the entire Tower. Determined to get his son and his wife back home so he could love them both like he should have been all along.

He had been too late though. 

He could see it in Pepper's eyes when she fell into his arms, tired and weak, but he refused to think of such an outrageous possibility because surely his son was alright. He had to be. He brought Pepper home, tucked her into their bed, doted on her and kissed her over and over and over again. He breathed her name and smelled her hair and stroked her stomach, only to be halted by her hand wrapped tightly around his wrist.

"Tony," she had whispered, so softly and so broken Tony almost didn't hear her. "He's gone. I lost him. He's gone, Baby."    

He didn't cry, or mourn, he just sat back on the bed and stared. He had stared down at her hand around his _left_ wrist… but he didn't care. There was an odd feeling in his heart that he just couldn't quite place, an emptiness that had been so quick to overrun the budding love for his son. The love was gone and he missed it more than he thought he could. He- he remembered that he didn't say a word for the rest of the night, simply content to hold Pepper tightly in his arms as she sobbed into his chest. 

He’s still not over it…not completely. His son would have turned two years old last month, but the past is in the past, and he has Morgan coming now. A baby girl… and-and now he has Peter too. Maybe. The boy's logic still astounded him and he couldn't seem to decide if he should hop onto the wagon of weird logic or not. There was a weird controversy. He shouldn't enable Peter's illusions, but at the same time, perhaps enabling it would help him heal and forget… He found himself wishing for things to be as simple as Peter made them to be. He felt a longing to accept Peter into their odd little family because he oh so desperately wanted one… he'd been wanting one ever since his little boy left this empty bubble of loneliness in his heart.

  
Perhaps that was why Pepper had felt so attached to Peter. Perhaps that was why _he_ found himself attached as well. They were all seeking for something they had lost.  

Peter had lost his father, so he had called him Daddy because he wanted a new one… the poor kid probably didn’t even know what having a father meant. He had said Harley told him so… but then Harley said he didn’t... It was all probably some huge misunderstanding that Pepper would have to effortlessly fix when it came morning. He knew he wasn’t Peter’s father (no matter how much he found himself wanting to be). He knew that. But apparently Peter didn’t, and the fact that the kid had said that more out of a desperate call for love than an actual belief will make it even harder for Tony to accept that this wasn't the way it was supposed to be.

He pushed away from the door and stood up straight. He wiped the water droplets in the corners of his eyes away with his forefinger and thumb then cleared his throat to pull himself back together. He rolled his shoulders and sniffed. He was fine. It was just an overreaction to an innocent profession after a long, emotionally draining day. The kid was just looking for a rebound father after practically sentencing his own to death.  _A rebound father_ … the thought made Tony chuckle under his breath.

He slowly turned on his heel to head further down the hall to his own bedroom, but he stopped before he could take a step. What about Harley? Where was Harley? The kid had run out in an angry panic during his slightly one-sided _discussion_ with Peter. Had he offended the kid in some way? Or was it just embarrassment? Anger probably. The kid seemed to be more angry than not lately.

So, instead of wandering back to his room where Pepper was waiting he turned back around and headed towards the entrance of the hallway which leads out into the living room. He spotted the dark silhouette of a large lump on his couch, slightly illuminated by the lamp in the corner of the room. He paused at the end of the corridor and sighed softly. Harley was curled beneath the blanket, pressed into the corner of the couch, and Tony could see his small tremors even in the dimly lit room.

“Harley?” He started slowly, taking a soft step towards the couch. 

The boy doesn’t respond verbally, but the quaking does come to an abrupt halt. Then, as if suddenly poked with a hot branding iron, the kid leaps off the couch in a panic. The blanket is launched violently across the room as Harley scrambles over the back of the couch.

“Leave me alone!” He shouts, wiping furiously at his eyes as he bolts across the room, in the opposite direction Tony was approaching.

Tony says nothing. His head simply drops in reproachful sorrow, and his eyes follow the kid’s trail across the room.

It isn’t until Harley reaches the elevator that Tony understands what his plan was. He finds his instincts kicking into gear. He couldn't just let this kid _leave_ when he was obviously upset. Who knew what he would do… and Tony got the feeling that in his moment of panic, the kid wouldn't hesitate to make a run for it. So, Tony found himself taking quick purposeful strides towards the elevator as the kid desperately punched his thumb onto the call elevator button repeatedly. 

“J, lock it down,” Tony instructs firmly, eyebrows turning downward.

  
Harley looks at him in a panic, and Tony can see the fear-driven tears pouring from his swollen eyes. Tony comes close and the kid turns to face the elevator and throws his body against the metal doors. “No. No! NO! Lemme go! Open! OPEN JARVIS OPEN! Lemme out of here! No!” His fists bang loudly on the large doors as he screams, but they didn’t budge. Tony reaches him and wraps an arm around his waist, pulling him away from the elevator, but Harley fights against him. 

“No! No lemme go you bastard! Leave me alone!” He struggles against Tony’s grip, and Tony grits his teeth together as he adjusts his arms so he can hold onto him as he drags him away from the elevator. Harley kicks and punches, throwing his weight onto and against Tony to try and trip him, but it doesn't work. Tonys too sturdy to be budged. It doesn't take but a couple more yards for Tony to get fed up with the wild antics. He spins the kid around to face him and grips Harley’s upper arms to give him a good shake.

“Shut up kid! You’re gonna wake Peter.” His voice is thick and gravelly through his loud whisper, and Harley immediately stops struggling at the harsh tone. Tony glares down at him, but Harley doesn’t shrink away. Nope. Instead, he returns Tony’s harsh glare with a scowl and a forceful tug of his shoulder in a measly attempt to escape.

“What the hell's gotten into you?” Tony questions with a quiet growl.

Harley tugs again, but Tony rights him once more with another good shake. “Leave me alone. You’re not my dad.” The boy spat venomously.

“Never said I was,” Tony responded easily with a slight challenging quirk of his brow. “Now are you going to tell me what’s goin’ on here?”

Harley’s tearful scowl falters for a moment. His chin quivers and his eyes avert from Tony’s as he continues tugging fruitlessly at the man's tight grip. “Jus’-jus’ please,” he sobs quietly, “jus’ leave me alone.”

Tony thinks about it for just a moment. He thinks about releasing the kid and letting him go downstairs to hide out in the tiny quarters Happy had assigned to him, and then assigning guards at all the exits to make sure he doesn't try and make a run for it… He considers it. He really does. But then the kid's entire body shakes so violently that he would have keeled over if Tony hadn’t been holding onto him so tightly. He looks down at the kid. He looks at the way his old band t-shirt was practically drowning the kid and his scrawny limbs. He was a kid. He was still a _kid_. Tony was the adult. Adults were supposed to keep kids safe… and there was something wrong with this kid. So, Tony didn’t let him go. Instead, he bows his head to catch the kid’s eyes and he removes one hand to reach up and cup the side of the boy’s neck.

“Tell me what’s bothering you Kiddo.”

Harley simply shakes his head.

Tony wants to groan. He wants to solve the problem so he could go to bed and sleep off the day's exhaustion, but the kid was ridiculously stubborn. So, instead, he dragged the boy over to the sofa and pushed him down to sit before he took the seat next to him.

“Does this have anything to do with what Peter said? I know that topic is kinda sensitive to you…”

“That’s not-!” Harley started abruptly before cutting himself off. “It’s just… that’s not what I told him. He made it sound like I was saying you were our dad. And I _didn’t_ say that. I promise Boss. I didn’t tell him that.”

“Could you quite with the Boss crap, Kid? It’s driving me insane.”

Harley scoffed at him and crossed his arms over his chest. “What do you want me to call you then? You’ve already ruled out 'sir'. And I'm not calling you Mr. Stark. That just sounds stupid. How about Mr. Mechanic? Or Sir. Genius Mastermind the Fourth?”

Tony side-eyed him, the corner of his mouth quirking up into an amused smile. Harley returned it with a smug smirk of his own.

“Tony’ll do fine,” Tony answered with a simple shrug, relaxing back into the cushions of the couch.

“You told me I wasn’t allowed to call you that,” Harley pointed out.

Tony scoffed. “When in the world did I tell you that?”

“In the car on the night we were going to meet up with Rogers.”

Tony thought about it for a moment to try and recall the events and he frowned. “Well, I changed my mind…" Then he smiled. "Though I’m kinda fond of the name Mr. Mechanic now.”

Harley pushed at his shoulder playfully.

Tony felt a tinge of relief by the familiar gesture and turned to look at the kid, hoping to find the problem and the angsty mood fixed. But the boy seemed to realize what he had done and was already retreating into his shell again. Tony sighed dejectedly and dropped his head to rest on the back of the couch. “Alright. Why don’t you tell me about you and Pete’s little misunderstanding? Maybe that way we can clear some things up, 'cause I was kinda left in the dark, and it kinda freaked me out a bit. I have no idea where any of this is coming from.“ 

Harley casts him a strange look. “I never said you were our dad. I didn’t say that.”

“Yes. You’ve said that many times,” Tony sighs, repressing the urge to scowl. “Just tell me what you _did_ say.”

Harley sighed again and threw himself into the couch dramatically. “He just asked about my dad, and I told him I didn’t have a dad, ‘cause my father was a dick. He got all confused about the difference between dads and fathers, and I get that it’s not really a thing… but to me having a dad is a lot different than just having a father. And-and I tried explaining that to him by saying that dads don’t treat their kids like crap, and-and that my father had treated me and my sister like crap so technically I don’t have a real dad.” Harley stopped abruptly to take a couple of breaths. “Then-then he got all curious and stuff and asked what my dad had done to me, and I said something stupid and told him it was kinda the same stuff his dad did to him, ‘cause I didn’t wanna start talkin’ all ‘bout my traumas and crap.”

Tony nodded along, trying his best to follow the speedy rambling falling from the boy’s mouth.

“And then he got all worried about not having a real dad too and I told him that sometimes you could have a dad that wasn’t your real father… y’know, like adoption and stuff. And he got super excited which I thought was good ‘cause I didn’t want him to be all upset after what happened today. He started askin’ ‘bout dads and what they did and I told him! I just told him what dads are supposed to do y'know about lovin' him and huggin' him and teachin' him stuff… keepin' him safe and happy… and-and he just jumped to conclusions and declared that you were our new dad since you… since you did most of the things that dads were supposed to do…. And yeah. That’s it. He's just… he's just super smart for a kid I guess.”

“See, now was that so hard?” Tony smiled.

Harley looked at him and his brows furrowed in confusion. “You’re not mad?”

“Why in the world would I be mad?”

Harley shrugged. “I don’t know…”

Tony eyes him. The boy’s still hunkered in on himself, avoiding eye contact. There’s something else bothering him it seemed. He found himself leaning forward and he reached out to place a hand on his knee. 

“Talk to me kid.”

Harley looked up at him with fresh tears shining in his eyes. _Dear God, so many tears tonight_. “I just…” he started helplessly. Tony scooted closer. “You’re so different… it’s scary.” Tony would never admit it, but that one hurt… the kid was scared of him. “I-I-I just don’t know what to expect from you… or-or what you expect from meI-I’m so used to being pushed around y’know. I’m used to the yelling and the hitting and the- and the not caring... I’m not- I’m not used to all this.” He gestures to the space around them.

“You’re scared of change.” Tony reasoned with an understanding smile. Harley chuckled and wiped away the tears from his eyes with the back of his hand.

“I guess you could call it that.”

“Hmm,” Tony hummed, removing his hand from the kid's knee. “Well… you would never get anywhere in life kid if nothing ever changed.”

“Is that the quote of the day on your kitty calendar, old man?” Harley snarked, wrinkling his nose devilishly.

“You’re a brat,” Tony laughed, shoving him in the shoulder. “Here I am tryin’ to make you feel better and you’re making fun of me. This is the first time I’ve ever done this too y’know. I’m as new to this whole thing as you are.”

“Sorry,” Harley smiled.

“No you’re not.”

“I guess I’m not.”

Tony smiled warmly at him and tossed an arm around his shoulders to pull him in for a quick side hug. It was meant to be playful and reassuring, but he felt the boy tense up at the close contact. Tony didn't let him go right away. “Is this- is this by any chance related to your aversion to my kindness?”

“I-I-I guess I-I…” Harley cuts himself off and sighs. He tries pulling away from Tony to escape the comforting embrace, but Tony pulls him back and forces him to look him in the eyes.

“Tell me what’s bothering you and maybe I can fix it.”

“You can’t fix something like this Tony,” Harley sighed with a roll of his eyes. “It’s called having abandonment and trust issues. I think it takes years of therapy to fix something like this.” Tony can feel the boy’s entire body go stiff, but he doesn’t say a word, hoping the silence would urge the kid to speak more.

“And y’know… being a teenager doesn’t help a lot with the degrading self-image either.” The kid slumps against him, head lolling to the side to fall onto his shoulder. He seemed to give up the restraint on accepting comfort and affection and decided to slowly welcome it with open arms. Surely it couldn't be that bad if it felt so good. Felt so safe. “I know- I know how this life is supposed to work. I get it. I understand it, but I don’t understand this. _This_ isn’t part of our world. It’s different and-and it’s nice and-and I hate it. I hate it ‘cause-’cause I used to have something like this and-and it was all ruined because of me and-and it broke me and I just don’t want that to happen again.”

“It won’t--” Tony starts, only to be cut off. 

“But it will! It will!” Harley argues loudly, wrenching himself from Tony’s grip and standing from the couch. “It always will ‘cause bad people don’t deserve to be happy. And sometimes I just wish that I was good so I could have something like this and not be afraid of losing it or ruining it.”

Tony pauses as he’s hit with the sudden realization that this kid has been struggling with the same turmoil he’s been experiencing since the first moment he found out about Pepper's first pregnancy. And the thought that this kid could feel like a bad person… it seemed ridiculous.

“You’re not a bad person Kid.”

“You don’t know anything about me, Stark. I've done things you've killed a man for. I'm not this innocent little kid you keep making me out to be. You don't _know_.”

That takes Tony by surprise and he stands, frowning at the boy’s snappish tone and dark insinuation.

“I know enough. It’s part of my job to know who I can trust, and I hate to say it kid, but you’re one of my best. I wouldn’t be letting you up here, sleeping up here no less, hanging around my pregnant wife if I didn’t think I could trust you…” he steps forward and grabs the kid by the shoulders. “I know this line of work better than anybody else kid. I know it’s sometimes scary to think that everything could be ripped away from you after one mistake… and I-I _understand_ kid. I really do. But one thing I learned over the years… there’s no such thing as good and bad. The world’s not just all black and white. There’s bad within everyone, it’s just masked better by some people.” Tony pauses and takes a deep breath. “You just gotta learn who you can trust, alright?”

Harley nods slowly, arms lifting to cross over his chest. 

Tony sighs and lifts a hand to run it through the boy’s hair, hoping to offer some comfort like Pepper was so natural at providing. His lips quirk up when the kid’s head involuntarily jerks into his hand to prolong the contact. “I get that you might not be used to all this yet, but just know that you got people in your corner now, okay? Nobody’s gonna hurt you and nothing is expected of you, okay? You've still got 3 years of childhood to enjoy, and I want you to have the opportunity to experience it as best you can considering the circumstances.” Tony pulls him close and finds himself rocking from side to side. Harley melts into him, arms reaching around to hug him back. “I want to give you something I was never able to have… I want to do that for you because I know from experience that it's something you need, okay? I'm gonna try and help you experience that. Going through life scared to connect to anyone isn’t any way for a child to live… now... I’m still working on that too. So how about we work on that together, huh?”

Harley nods against him, hugging Tony tighter. Tony smiles and rubs his back.

“What if I…” Harley’s voice is hoarse as he whispers softly into the man’s chest. “What if I mess up? What if I’ve already messed up too bad to be a kid anymore?”

“Then I’ll forgive you, and I'll help you,” Tony responds easily. "I already forgive you for whatever terrible thing it is that you think you've done.”

Harley’s face presses closer into his chest and he shakes his head.

“You don’t even know what I did Tony.”

Tony's chest rattles dangerously. “I don’t have to. I can tell you regret it, and that’s enough punishment as is. Now, how about we get you off to bed hm? I think Happy’s gonna start up your training again tomorrow. Big day for you, huh?”

“Yeah,” Harley nods, slowly peeling himself away from the embrace. But Tony keeps an arm around the kid’s shoulders as they walk. “Umm. You think you can come by at some point to watch? I-I’ve been practicing with YouTube.” Tony can’t see it, but he can practically hear the kid’s face flush in embarrassment.

“Yeah. I think I can arrange that.”

Tony leads him to the bedroom, opening the door softly so he wouldn’t wake Peter. He pulls the kid towards the empty bed and pushes him gently towards the mattress as he peels the comforter back. 

“I’m-” Harley starts, watching as Tony arranges the pillows of his bed, but Tony cuts him off.

“I know. I get it. You don’t gotta be tucked in. You’re not a little kid. Just humor me, okay? I need the practice.” He tossed the kid a wry smile and pats the pillow.

Harley smirks as he moves to lay down on the pillow. “I was gonna say I’m sorry for freaking out on you, but whatever.” 

Tony whacks him softly in the chest and the kid laughs as Tony pulled the blankets over his body and tucks them around the kid’s chin. “Shut up you little shit. I just dived way outside my comfort zone to give you a little heart-to-heart. Be appreciative.”

“I know- I know I’m sorry… but um.”

Tony lifted a brow and leans away from the bed after finishing with the blankets. “But what?”

“But um... You don’t gotta be my dad. I’m cool with the way things are.”

“Yeah, I know,” Tony nodded. “Didn’t expect you to want me to be. Don't blame ya.” He ruffles the kid’s hair and moves to leave, but Harley’s hand shoots out to grab his right wrist.

“Wait- um. That’s not what I meant. You’d- You’d be a great dad. I just--”

“You just don't need one. I understand kid. I’ll be whatever you need me to be kid. You and Peter gosh- You two got me goin’ all soft,” Tony rolled his eyes at the thought. “But… talk to me whenever your ready talk. I’ll be there to listen. Pepper too.”

“Yeah. Thanks.” Harley smiled. He waits for Tony to reach the doorway before he speaks up again. “Night Tony.”

And Tony turns around to smile back. “Night kid. Now go to sleep or I’ll make you train with Natasha.”

Harley drops his head on the pillow and immediately closes his eyes. He doesn’t think he stopped smiling until he slipped into sleep.

* * *

“Pepper. Honey?” Tony began slowly, tiptoeing into the room wearing a sheepish smile. 

  
Pepper looks at him from over her tablet and frowns. The look on her husband’s face was all too familiar. “What did you do Tony?”

Tony’s mouth opens and closes a couple of times before it snaps shut. He rushes across the room and drapes himself across their bed so he could reach out and grab her hand. “What’re your thoughts on kids?”

Pepper looks at him for a moment, trying to determine if he’s officially lost his goddamned mind or not. But she responds softly anyhow, just in case. “Tony. Sweetie.” She lays a hand on her stomach and strokes the back of his hand. “I think it’s a bit late for us to be having this conversation.”

Tony rolls his eyes at his own awkwardness. “No-no that’s not… that’s not what I meant. I meant _the_ kids. What do you think about the kids?”

“Harley and Peter?” Pepper asks slowly. Tony nods his head. “Well, I think they’re wonderful Honey… why do you ask?”

Tony sits up and rests his back against the headboard. He has varying thoughts on how he wants this conversation to go down. All he knows is that Pepper needs to know because she sometimes knows what he needs and wants better than he does. “Well, Pete thinks I’m his new Dad… and…” he looks up to see Pepper’s eyes widen, but she doesn’t say a word. “He um. He got the idea from Harley. And-and I talked to the kid a bit and y’know, he’s still all embarrassed and angry about life… but I kinda got the vibe that he… that he thinks the same thing… he refuses to admit it though...”

Pepper grabs his hand and squeezes. “Okay. Well, how are you feeling about this? I know you’ve always kinda been freaked out by the idea of being a father and-and I know this is all kind of sudden.”

“It’s not like I hate it. But I don’t like it either. I don’t know what I’m supposed to do… it’s not like- it’s not like they can go anywhere else. And-and I think Pete deserves to have the family he’s asking for, y’know. It’s the least we can do for him.” 

Pepper smiles. “I agree. And you know, I didn’t tell you this because I didn’t know how you would react… but Peter called me his Mama a while back.”

Tony’s grin is bright and infectious. “Really?”

“Yes. He just needs a little love and I think that’s something we can give him.”

“Yeah, I think you’re right.” Tony’s breath of relief seemed to melt away the anxiety. He sank down onto the mattress and rolled onto his side so he could reach out and stroke her stomach. “Sometimes I forget that I’m supposed to be a hardass. You and these kids are really domesticating me.” He laughed and kissed her shirt several times. “I don’t think a man in my position should be freaking out just ‘cause a little kid called him Daddy.”

Pepper combed a hand through his hair. “Hmm. Well, you’ve always been an anomaly Honey. That’s why I love you.”

“What?” Tony scoffed sarcastically, “‘cause I’m so in touch with my feelings?”

“Nope. The exact opposite,” Pepper smiled complacently. “It’s kinda fun to watch you torment a man for hours then come home to see you do a full turnaround and torment yourself about being a good father. You're like a cute little squirrel unsure whether you should cross the road.”

“Yeah, yeah, laugh it up.” Tony groaned. “At least I’m not just a bastard all the time like that two-faced piece of crap downstairs. Gosh, I think I hate him more now than I did before he got here.”

“I’m sure the feeling’s mutual… but yes, he’s quite infuriating, isn’t he?”

Tony sat up, and his entire demeanor changed from joking to irritated. “Yeah, I know. He screams like a little girl and he cries like a baby, but he won’t just answer my goddamned questions so I could just go ahead and kill ‘im. Gosh, I just wanna kill him so bad.”

“That’s why he won’t talk Tony. He doesn’t wanna die. As soon as he tells you what you want to hear, he knows he's dead. He’s a coward.”

“Yeah,” Tony huffed in agreement. “Either that or he’s puttin’ on a whole show. Probably waiting for Ross or Osborn to send the calvary or something. I should just kill him… maybe Osborn will be more willing to answer my questions.”

Pepper shrugs and picks her tablet back up to get back to work. “Perhaps. But I’m sure after you’ve had a few sessions with him you’ll get what you want. I know you’ve broken men more stubborn than him. Just be patient Honey.”

“I don’t wanna be patient, Pepper,” Tony groaned. “Y’know, contrary to popular belief, I don’t enjoy it when I get blood all over my hands and clothes. It leaves this weird smell and this itchy feeling under my nails. I prefer the jobs where I can just shoot ‘em between the eyes and call up Maria to do the cleanup.”

  
“Hmm, yes.” Pepper nods distractedly, “because you’re lazy. Speaking of lazy,” she twists to face him and she turns the tablet around to show him the spreadsheet she was looking at. “Have you been ignoring the books? Carl Santiago owes you over $50,000 and he’s due for payment.”

Tony waves a hand at her. “I’ve got it handled Babe, promise. We’ve just been a bit swamped with the whole Hydra thing goin’ on. As soon as I got a clear schedule, I’ll send out Asher or someone to give him a little reminder.”

  
“Well, you better do it soon. I liked him; if he waits to pay much longer you’re gonna have to give him an incentive.”

“Yes sweetheart, I know--”

There was a soft knock on their door and they both pause to turn and look.

“Must be Harley,” Tony mumbles. “Just put the kid to bed. Let ‘im in J.”

The door opens and Tony was right. There stood Harley in their doorway, but he wasn’t alone. He held Peter in his arms, tiny head tucked into his shoulder, and Harley stepped into the room to approach their bed. 

“He had a nightmare I think. He woke up cryin’ for you guys.” He made it halfway to the bed before Pepper was tossing her tablet to the side and waving him over with open arms. The closer he came to the bed, the easier it was to notice Peter’s tiny shoulders trembling.

“Baby,” Pepper cooed softly, taking Peter from Harley’s arms when the boy loosened his hold to be transferred into her arms.

“Mommy,” Peter wailed with a pitiful sniffle, face puckering in a sob as he wrapped his arms around her neck. Tony leaned over, hip digging into the bed so he could rub Peter’s back softly. Pepper petted his hair and pressed several kisses to his forehead.

“It’s okay now Baby. Look, Mommy and Daddy are right here.” She rocked him back and forth, hand flattening against the back of his head to press his face into her chest. “It’s okay Baby. You’re safe.”

Harley shuffled awkwardly beside the bed, unsure if he was supposed to wait to be dismissed or if he should just leave. But before he could retreat back to the bedroom, Pepper looked up and reached her hand out to him. Harley hesitated for a moment, but then he reached out to take her proffered hand.

Pepper pulled him forward and he stumbled closer, bending at the waist far enough so Pepper could kiss his forehead. “Thank you, Sweetheart, for bringing him to us.” Harley didn’t straighten right away. Instead, his eyes turned glossy as he looked down at Pepper with wide eyes, something akin to regret flickering behind his dilated pupils. Pepper simply smiled and reached up to comb through the hair at the back of his head. “You need your sleep Honey. Why don’t you go back to bed, hm?” When Harley didn’t move right away she hummed softly in thought. Tony sat silently, attention focused solely on Peter. 

“Unless you’d like to stay here with us for a little while? We wouldn’t mind Sweetheart. We’d understand.” That statement seemed to snap Harley back out of his stupor. His spine straightened abruptly, effectively knocking Pepper’s hand away from his hair. He shook his head resolutely with a mechanical snap of his neck going back and forth. His eyes didn’t move away from Pepper’s as he slowly backed away from the bed until he spun on his heel and rushed out of the room with his head bowed, chin tucked close to his chest. Pepper watched the door after he left just in case he returned, but she was brought back to the moment when she heard Tony’s awkward reassurances of “ _it’s okay Bubba.”_

“Mama, Mommy,” Peter sobbed, pulling away from her chest so he could look her in the face. “It so bad. So, so bad.”

“What was bad, Baby?”

Peter lifted his fists to rub at his eyes, upper lip being drawn into his mouth with every quivering intake of breath. “My-my-my-my fa-fat’her too’ me from-from you and Daddy!” He devolved into a pile of violent sobs, and his arms lifted towards Tony. “Da-da-daddy! I-I don’ wanna go! I-I don’t!”

Tony leans forward and pulls him into a tight embrace. He finds his own chest quaking with an odd mix of dejection and fury as he lies back against the mattress with Peter cradled safely against him. “I’ll never let anyone take you away from me, Bug. Nobody. Ever. Okay? You don’t have to be scared. Me and...” he pauses and glances at Pepper. He swallows around a lump in his throat then closes his eyes and presses his nose into Peter’s hair. “Me an’ Mama are here to keep you safe. Always.”

* * *

Pepper woke up to a finger tapping her cheek. Her eyes blink open slowly with a tired sigh as she rolled onto her back. Her vision clears enough to see Peter’s form looming over her, grinning and wide awake.

“Petey, baby, why are you awake?”

“Can we have panca’es for b’eakfast?”

Pepper groans and rubs a hand down her face as she turns her head to look at the clock on her bed stand. 7:30 on the dot. “Petey,” she yawns, “go bother your Daddy for a bit. Mama needs her sleep.”

She can hear Tony grunt from beside her, but he doesn’t move. Peter is settled between the both of them, glancing between them both. 

  
Pepper kicks Tony beneath the sheets. “Tony, go get your son some breakfast.”

Tony groans and rolled to his other side so his back was to her. “Sorry Honey, my legs don’t start working until after 8 o’clock. I’ve got work to do today so… I need… I need sleep.” She swears he starts to snore as soon as he trails off and she finds her nose crinkling in irritation, but she lays there, hoping Peter might get the hint.

“Mama?” Peter questioned, poking her in the cheek once more. “I’m hungry.”

Pepper sighed dramatically and began peeling back the sheets from her body. “Okay, okay. C’mon, let’s go get started on breakfast. But be quiet, Harley may still be sleeping.” She holds Peter’s hand as the boy jumps down from their bed, and together they walk down the hallway until they reach the expanse melding into their living room. There they saw Harley curled up on the couch under the blanket he’d been using the previous night.

“Mama look!” Peter whispered loudly, pointing at Harley on the couch before pulling his hand back to press his finger to his mouth. “Gots to be shhh. He sleepin’.”

“That’s right Honey, he’s sleeping. Let’s go get started on breakfast.”

Pepper leads him into the kitchen and drags over a chair towards the counter for him to stand on. Then, she ties an apron around his little waist and together they get started mixing together all the ingredients for pancakes. 

It doesn’t take long for the soft chattering and occasional clattering of pans to wake Harley up from his light sleep. He sits up abruptly, hair sticking out at weird places, and he blinks rapidly. He turns to face the kitchen, squinting to try and spot the source of all the noise. 

“Good morning sleepyhead,” Pepper chirped, pouring batter onto the sizzling pan. 

“Uhh, morning…” He yawns and stretches his arms above his head. Afterwards, he falls back against the couch, face pressed into the cushions of the couch. 

Pepper chuckles and pushes away Peter’s hand gently when he reaches for the spatula in her hand. Then she hears the coffee maker turn on with a soft whir. “Ope, looks like Tony’s awake.” 

Peter’s head snaps to look over at the entrance of the hallway and he waits patiently for Tony to appear. When he doesn’t, he turns back to Pepper and looked at her as if she had made the most ultimate betrayal.

“No he’s not.”

Pepper smiles at him. “Yes he is. Look. He told JARVIS to get his coffee started.” She pointed to the coffee maker, and as if on cue, coffee begins to pour into the coffee cup resting beneath it.

“Oooooh,” Peter chirps brightly. And, sure enough, Tony emerges from the depths of his bedroom a few moments later, hair awry, and frown on his face. He doesn’t look at all happy to be awake. Not at all. He grumbles a quick good morning, makes a grab for his cup of coffee, then retreats towards the couch. Peter watches him intensely, forgetting entirely about the pancakes as he braces his hands on the counter so he can better see over the ledge, into the living room. 

Tony falls into the couch carefully, grunting like the old man he was, and takes a sip of his hot coffee. Harley slowly sits up and looks at him, but Tony’s eyes are closing again before he can even think of greeting the teen. 

“Has someone brought up the paper yet?” He grumbles after a couple of moments, head craned backward to rest against the cushions of the couch.

“Not yet, sir,” JARVIS answers quickly. “Master Harley is typically the one sent to deliver your newspaper with Mr. Allen’s assistance, would you like to have someone else sent down to retrieve it.”

“Please,” Tony moaned, lifting his mug to his mouth once more to take another sip. Harley doesn’t say a word.

He drains the entire cup of coffee before a young man is stumbling into the penthouse with the newspaper in hand. Harley immediately throws himself under the blanket to hide when he spots the vaguely familiar face, and Tony accepts the paper with a thankful nod of his head. Nobody heard it, but he chuckled softly at Harley hiding under the blanket next to him. 

The young guy leaves and Tony nudges Harley with his elbow and holds out his mug towards him. “Be a help and grab me another cup, would ya kid?”

Harley stares at him, unamused, but he takes the mug and gets up to refill it for him anyway as the man begins opening the paper. Peter darts past him on his trek towards the coffee machine and the boy leaps onto the couch with an endless amount of energy beaming off him from all directions.

“Daddy, guess what?” Peter jests, both hands braced on the man’s arm as he shuffles closer on his knees.

“Wha’s up Pete?” Tony indulges without looking up from the pages.

Peter leans forward to whisper as if it were a secret. He cups his hand around his mouth and Tony feels the tickle of his hot breath hit his ear. It made him want to wiggle away. “Me an’ Mama are makin’ panca’es.”

“Mmm,” Tony nods, “hope they’re good.”

Peter nods his head enthusiastically, and Tony vaguely registers that the kid is still wearing his floury apron, and the flour is getting all over his black tank top. 

“Can I get my morning hug, p’ease?” Peter asks, bottom lip jutting out in a pout and his arms raised pitifully. 

Tony sighs like it's such a pain and lifts his arm to invite Peter to snuggle into his side. The kid doesn’t hesitate and nuzzled in close to him despite the fact he had been cuddled up to the man for nearly the entire night. Tony sniffed and dropped his arm back in place and grabbed ahold of the paper again, flicking his wrists to right the thin papers once more. Peter hums in contentment, cheek and palm rested against his chest as he scans the pages as well, but he couldn’t understand anything except the pictures.

Harley returns a few minutes later with Tony’s coffee and Tony happily accepts it from him. Everything is all and well. Pepper roped Harley into setting the table for breakfast, and Tony was nearly onto the second page of the paper, scanning over the latest news about himself or anything else in the world he should be worried about. That’s when JARVIS had to speak up and ruin the perfect domestic little atmosphere they had going.

“Sir, I believe there is something you would like to see.” The TV flickered on abruptly and Tony looks up to glance at the screen. He frowns at the grainy footage, broadcasting announcements flittering across the bottom of the screen. The video was of a dark room, focused in on the dark silhouette of a man, face concealed by the shadows in the dark room, yet bright grey fringes of his hair illuminated by an odd angle of light. It was eerie, and so, so, so cheezy Tony nearly rolled his eyes at the new wannabe supervillain that JARVIS was oh so concerned about. His voice was obviously changed with a typical gravelly voice modifier, but Tony wasn’t all that worried and he started focusing on the words the man was saying.

**“There have been several rumors circling around regarding Hydra as of late. And according to all of these gossiped tales, Anthony Stark is apparently the clandestine leader of Hydra. I’m here to assure you that none of that is true. Of course, I am obviously a very private person myself, otherwise, most of the world would know who I was and what I do, but one thing is for certain… I do not enjoy credit being given to someone when it most definitely belongs to me. Especially not to a man such as Anthony Stark. So, President Ross, it would be so kind of you to stop spreading these false accusations and riling up the public to believe their precious Anthony is the villain he claims to be. Every man with a brain who knows Anthony surely knows he is incapable of leading such a powerful organization such as myself. His own is laughable; it brings disgrace to the Stark Legacy. The very** **_idea_ ** **is laughable really. So stop crediting a man of something so great when he goes around projecting this facade of strength and power when he is too weak to even begin imagining what the world could be with the proper guidance.”** Tony frowns at the jackass on the screen. It’s obvious he’s doing all this for attention, and of course, he’s more than happy to accept this confession to clear his name, but still… really? Really? By then, Pepper was in the room as well, watching the TV with an amused smile on her lips. She’s obviously fairly amused as well. 

But neither of the boys seem to be quite so entertained by the ordeal. Peter stares at the screen, eyes wide and fist curled into the fabric of Tony’s shirt. Pepper has Harley wrapped up in her arms, pulling him close so he could rest his head on her chest, but the boy continues watching the screen.

**“Now, of course, I wouldn’t disrupt national television to come on here and yak about what could easily be interpreted as a hoax, so I’ve decided to provide everyone watching with a bit of proof.”** The shadow on the man’s face shifts so his grinning mouth is clearly visible on the screen, and Tony gets an odd feeling… like maybe this isn’t quite as fake as he thought, because he can almost swear the man is staring right at him; right into his soul... 

“ **Say hi for the cameras, Anthony.”**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter. I don't know what it is with me and super long chapters. I really don't get it, but I just can't seem to help myself. Anyways, this was kinda sorta very thrown together (especially the end, sry wanted to get it out tonight) cuz I was trying to fit in a bunch of minor details to do all that dumb foreshadow stuff people like during rereads. Whatever. Anyways. Thanks for reading. I'm sorry if Tony was a bit too OOC this chapter... I know, I get it. I was just kinda grasping at strings for a while here. 
> 
> If you got any questions or suggestions lemme know. Thanks again. Love y'all to pieces!


	19. Chapter 19

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't kill me... please.

Tony was given no time to react. There was no 5-second-delay or grace-period meant to allow him a fair amount of time to fix himself up and look presentable before his face was broadcasted all over live television. Nope. The only warning he had was a simple flicker as the picture of the shadowy man moved to take up half the screen. Next thing he knew, their living room was being broadcasted live for the entire world to see. 

 A jolt of hot adrenaline flooded his veins when he realized what was happening. His hand flew up to cover Peter's face, mind already fluttering around to try and do some sort of half-assed damage control. The world _cannot_ know about Peter or Harley. Kidnapping was a big no-no in every existing rule book there was. People go to prison for things like that he's pretty sure, and having video evidence of said kidnapping even though it wasn’t quite what it sounded like… still not a very good look for him. People may know who he is and what he did… but there was never any tangible proof. He had always been so, so careful. He always covered his tracks, slow, methodical, and paved over with a fine-toothed comb.

The guy on screen snickered at Tony’s quick impulse. “ **Don’t think I’m not already aware of who that child is Anthony. Everybody already knows.** ” Tony found himself growling, jumping up from the couch with Peter’s face still concealed. The newspaper was carelessly tossed to the side as Tony stood adjusted Peter and stood abruptly from the couch, holding the kid so his face was hidden against his chest. His hand rested on the back of the kids head, keeping it firmly in place in a hope that there was no real way for the world to officially identify him and that it was all just a big bluff. 

"Pepper!" He roared, gesturing wildly in the direction of the kitchen. "Kids! Kitchen now! On the floor behind the cabinets!" It was the only camera angle he could think of that JARVIS’ cameras didn’t have access too. He thrusts Peter into Harley's arms, adjusting so Harley had him properly concealed and standing in such a way that Tony’s back blocked the view to Harley's face even though there had already been plenty of time for him to be identified. Tony cursed colorfully under his breath. He felt his heart rate speed up… because this couldn’t possibly be happening. He was always so careful, and this could only end badly. Steve Rogers could only do so much... and in the best case scenario he’d no doubt be forced into hiding, SI would officially shut down for malpractice and illegal dealings… and everything he and his family ever worked for would go down the drain. All just because of a few seconds of hacked footage that had the potential of officially sending him to prison. Not good. It was Al Capone all over again.

"JARVIS!" He hollered as he helped Pepper herd the two boys into the kitchen to hide from the obtrusive camera centered above the TV in the living room. He couldn’t believe his state-of-the-art AI system could be compromised like this. He was always so careful especially when it came to the cameras he had placed around the penthouse and Tower for JARVIS. His programing was never anywhere where hackers could access him. Tony had developed a special quantum entangled encryption to prevent occurrences like this. Which meant… someone was inside. Someone had access to JARVIS’s main systems directly which were hidden down in the basement. This was double not good squared. Who knew what other functions were compromised.

"Already on it sir," JARVIS immediately replied. But then the gravelly disguised voice of the man on the TV was speaking again and Tony spun on his heel to march back in front of the screen. The camera angle for his living room gave whoever was watching a perfect view of his angry face. There had to be a reason this man felt the need to attack him in his own home like this… oh yes, how could he forget? He was Hydra. Hydra along with an infinite number of other people wanted him dead, in prison, tortured, or brain dead. In fact, Ross already had a specially designed prison just for him. The man claims it’s for anybody too dangerous to be kept in a modern prison, but everybody knew the truth. The Raft. How could he forget about the stupid Raft? Alcatraz… Capone. Gosh, so many parallels... 

" **Tsk, tsk, tsk, Anthony** ," the man chuckled, " **there's no need to be so brash. Everybody already had their suspicions that you were the one to abduct Mr. Peter Parker and Mr. Keener. In fact, it’d be nice to be officially introduced to the children indulging in your psychotic fantasy of being a father. Though, I can’t quite understand your logic considering that Mrs. Pepper Stark is already quite far along into her pregnancy. Oops, was that supposed to be a secret-** "

"What the _hell_ do you think you're doing?" Tony snarled, taking a menacing step closer to the screen even though he knew it wouldn't project the wanted effect. He so desperately wanted this man to shudder, submit, shiver… anything, but he knew he wouldn’t. He had the upper hand; he was too good… and Tony was afraid to admit it, but… probably better than him.

" **Keeping you in your place Anthony. Someone has too before you start getting any ideas.** " Tony watches as the shadow of the man's lips pull upwards to reveal shimmering white teeth beneath, light bouncing off from his right canine to accentuate the cunning grin peeking through the shadows. " **And someone has to show the world who you really are. You’ve deceived people for far too long with your silly morals and good deeds. Maybe that way you might get out of my way and let me do as I please. So world,"** the man's entire body shifts, arms rising dramatically towards the camera. **"Here’s the man you claim will save you from the hands of myself. Pitiful, really. You put your trust into a criminal… a man just like me. Though, obviously not quite as good. He doesn't have the tact for this profession as his grandfather and father had. It’s ridiculous to think he’d ever be strong-willed enough to go toe-to-toe with me."**

"Listen here you raving piece 'a _shit_!" Tony snapped, teeth bared, muscles tense, and completely on the edge of devolving into a full-on rampage. This man has bared his entire life to the world without any effort. He's undone all the hard work he's accomplished to keep the world out of his business and his personal life private (nobody needed to know about Pepper and the baby. That would only put her and Morgan more at risk… but it was too late now). The entire company will fall into shambles if he doesn’t figure out a way to clear his name after this opaque reveal. He is so done with this jackass; he doesn’t care who he is. "I don't care who you think you are. I don't care what you are trying to prove, but this is me time. I'm sorry. I'm really not up for consultation and complaints until after 10 am. I have better things to do than to indulge your little evil masterminded fantasies."

“ **What things must you do, Anthony? Last I heard, your wife and Mr. Rhodes do all the hard work for you.** ” The man chuckled. “ **Or are you the new poster boy house husband? Look at that, is that flour on your shirt? And didn’t little Peter have on an adorable apron too? Teaching the son of your rival to make breakfast for the family? My God, you** **_have_ ** **gone soft Anthony. That’s just too sweet. It’s honestly worse than I thought. Your father would be so disappointed in the weakling you’ve become.** ”  

For some reason, that hit a nerve, but he didn’t let it show. He knew better than that. “And what do you know about how my father would feel?” Tony frowned, arms crossing over his chest. He refrained from brushing away the white patch of flour on his shirt just to prove he wasn’t bothered by the insinuation. People tend to like family-men… it may do him some good on the publicity front. As long as he held onto the public’s support there was still a chance for him

“ **I knew him quite well actually. A good man. One you should be aspiring to be. Not this…** ” he trails off, arms gesturing vaguely at Tony’s form. “ **This… domestic pushover.** ” The man’s voice rises. “ **Hell, you’ve been known to be the most terrifying man in America and Europe! You've done nothing but trick people into trusting you have the ability to fix their corrupt world. You have no spine, no sense of proper justice. You are weak and worthless to the world. People don’t need guidance and ridiculous rules to discourage violence. They don’t need a choice. Giving ignorant people choices never works in the long run.”** The man pauses and sighs dramatically. **“And you could have the world all for yourself with the amount of money you have, and the undying support of the idiots all over the world. You’ve corrupted some of America’s finest already. Captain Steve Rogers of the NYPD is one of your call-boys is he not. The world wouldn’t blink an eye if you declared a takeover because they’re blinded by this idea you work by. But you’re too scared to go for it; a coward who knows he’s unworthy of such a large amount of power. I even remember when you were a child; just a wee little thing. You were solid, stoic, a stickler for perfect success just at five years old. You didn’t take shit from anybody. You weren’t deterred by this false sense of right and wrong. Your father had you molded into the perfect ruler; the perfect successor for his legacy, but then your mother corrupted you with her tales of kindness and morality.** ” He ends with a domineering sneer, and Tony doesn’t blink. He remains stoic and motionless as he stares blankly at the television screen. He can’t let the man get to him. He was only looking for a rise. That’s all this was. He had no proof of Steve’s communications with him. The man was just pulling at strings. “ **It’s sad really. You could have been the perfect partner. You still could be if you would just let go of this silly interpretation of justice you have! Be what your father was Anthony.** ”

“I’m not my father. I never desire to be like my father. I don’t assume things are mine simply because I have the ability to take them. I’m not a heartless bastard like you, my father, or my grandfather, and I’m not afraid to admit that. I will be forever grateful to my mother for saving me from the monster my father was molding me into.”

“ **Don’t disrespect your father boy! That’ll come back to bite you in the ass one day. He’s given you everything you have and will ever have. Your success is thanks to him. Show a bit of appreciation.** ”

Tony subtly adjusts his arms so he can grab ahold of his left wrist. He squeezes tightly and fights to keep his face expressionless. The world was watching. His enemies were watching. He couldn’t break down and prove that all these things this man was saying are true. That he’s weak. Things were slowly slipping back into his corner and he couldn’t lose it just because he let his emotions get the best of him. The man was unknowingly talking him up… or maybe that was on purpose. Tony frowned at the thought… this guy had an ulterior motive. He wasn’t trying to get him arrested or killed, there was something else… The man’s obviously not dumb enough to say all these things-- things that normal people tend to appreciate in a person-- in an attempt to knock him down on the popularity polls.

“JARVIS!” He shouted before the man could start talking again. He didn’t like all this ‘not knowing’ stuff. “ETA?”

“Practically finished, sir.”

Then, the half screen where Tony and the living room were displayed flickered and faded out into grey static. The man laughed, the glimmer of his teeth illuminated through the shadows of his face. 

" **Well, it looks like your little robot friend finally caught up. Security must not be as great as you claim. Do you really think I came so unprepared? That was just a silly little distraction. Lookie there.** " Then, just as quickly as the picture faded, another appeared. This time, it was a close up of the Tower. Camera pointed directly at the wall of windows on the 92nd floor, the penthouse floor. Tony raised an eyebrow in contemplation as he stared at the television and watched the defined silhouette of his form standing in the middle of his living room in his pajamas. So, he turned his head and squinted out the window to try and spot the source of the camera. 

It was a drone. He rolled his eyes in fed up exasperation. "Of course it's a drone."

Then Tony feels a tingle crawl up his spine. It was a familiar tingle. Like the kind he would get when he was walking down the street. When the hair on the back of his neck would stand on end just before a random guy tried to jump him for cash. And with that, though he dived behind the couch just before glass rained down on the room and the loud sound of bullets whizzed through the air. He heard Peter's distinct scream of surprise at the sudden noise and his panicked cry of “Daddy!”, but he ignored it. The only good thing was it seemed the Hydra loon no longer had audio or up-close visual of what was happening in the Tower, which meant JARVIS wasn’t completely compromised. There was still hope. Just a little.

Yet, something was still so so very wrong with this picture. Those windows were supposed to be bulletproof. Hell, missile proof even. He’d tested the integrity himself on many occasions.

"What the _hell_?" He growled, peeking over the back of the couch to try and catch a glimpse of what could possibly be breaking through his state of the art protected glass. The drone fired again, this time joined by two more. "JARVIS!" He screamed above the chaos. "Why are they not setting off any alarms? There well within the no-fly-zone! Why aren’t the shades dropping? Report goddamnit! Is the Tower under attack?!"

JARVIS's voice comes through with a stutter and a lining of panic. "I-I-I don't know, sir. I am running a diagnostic as we speak, but nothing is being picked up by the radar. I believe my systems have been compromised. I-I can’t control or see specific functions of the Tower. Certain cameras are blacking out for extended periods of time and I can’t pinpoint a location on the bug that has compromised my operating systems. The signal is bouncing all throughout the Tower sir. I may have to transfer over to FRIDAY’s servers. Something doesn’t seem right, sir."

“Yeah, no shit,” Tony murmurs, preparing himself to make a move for the kitchen once the shooting died down. He needed to get Pepper and the boys out of there and away from any danger as quickly as possible. Who knew what else this guy had up his sleeve.

" **Aren't you surprised Anthony?** " The man spoke again once the shooting died down. " **You're probably wondering how I got my hands on your designs… And I must give you some credit. Those splintering bullets and radar stealth drones really do come in handy. You have quite the knack for engineering.** "

Tony's heart stopped. This guy had his tech… he had his tech. Tech that he’d designed specifically to kill a man with the ease of a skilled sniper. How could this get any worse? He never even officially fabricated those radar stealth drone, he never made it past the blueprints. He never had the time.

" **Though, of course, I made a few modifications of my own. You're not the only genius around these parts Anthony.** "

God, why does this guy keep calling him that? He doesn’t think he’s ever wanted to punch someone in the face so badly (except Richard Parker. That one’s still in the air at the moment). 

The TV screen goes black, but not before the man has a chance to flash another blinding smile. Tony can’t stand the fact that he can’t see his face. The screen flickers as he waves his goodbye and flashes back to the channel news station. It only takes two more seconds for the surprised news anchor to fall into a loud, panicked spiel about what had just been broadcast across the state. Or possibly the globe considering the weight of this guy’s ego. Even if it was just the state, it wouldn’t take very long for the footage to reach the rest of the world.

"JARVIS, bring down the shades now," he instructs. "I want the whole Tower on lockdown except the 78th, 72nd, and 67th floors. I want three snipers positioned on each of those floors to take out those drones. Have them use my new EMP nets along with any heavy assault rifles found in the armory. Station eight snipers on the roof and I want at least two guards at every entrance. Release the shadow assault drones and then eject the WhirWhir bugs to circle the tower and drop the electromagnetic radio barrier curtain mirror.”

“Is that all, sir?” JARVIS questions as Tony scrambles to his feet.

He vaults across the room as the metal shades slowly begin to drop in place. The gears were fighting against each other, causing a staticky up and down movement as JARVIS’ program fought to lower the shades. All he knew is he needed to get to Pepper and the boys. He skids, dropping to his knees as he slides across the wooden floor into the kitchen, hiding behind the barricade of cabinets that Pepper and the boys were pressed against. He can hear the bullets smacking into the thick wood and he takes a second to wonder why he hadn’t been hit. He was prepared to be hit… he’d designed those drones to have perfect accuracy. 

He curses the Hydra man once more when he realizes his scheme, and he pushes the thought that attempting to kill him was all just for show to the back of his mind. Tony’s mouth is downturned into a serious frown, brows furrowed, and eyes fuming with pent up anger. “I want a location on this bastard ASAP. Unscramble the signal used by the drones to see if you can pinpoint a location on the base they are being controlled from. They shouldn’t be on an automated flight pattern with those strategic response trails and lack of accuracy. Someone is remotely controlling them from somewhere.. And get Phil Coulson and Sam Wilson up here. No questions. Make sure Happy and Rhodey rally the troops in case of an attack. It’s very possible that someone could already be in the building; make sure no one is operating alone.”

“Sir, Mr. Wilson is still recovering.”

“I don’t care. Tell him to get his ass up here now!”

Pepper stares at him, cradling Peter close to her side. Harley’s sits at attention, spine erect and eyes wide as he stares at Tony for some sort of instruction.

“Phil and Wilson? Why on Earth would you bring them up here when this is going on?” Pepper questions with a raise of her brow.

“I need all my experienced guys downstairs on standby just in case, but I need someone capable of protecting you up here to make sure you three stay safe. Coulson might be Hydra, but loves you for some god knows reason, and Wilson hates Hydra. Perfect balance.” Tony answers her question with distracted rambling, then he scoots towards the counter to reach for the discarded tablet lying there covered in splintered wood that had flown through the air after one too many bullets had hit the walls and cabinets. 

“JARVIS. Pull up the Tower stats. I want a 360 view of what’s happenin’. Enable FRIDAY also, you’re gonna need all the help you can get. If you can’t get your system under control within the next five minutes, I want you to transfer all actions to flow through her server. This guy knows what he’s doing.”

“Yes, sir.” JARVIS answers. Tony studies the tablet intensely, frown prominent as he continues his frustrated flicking through the footage.

“Daddy?” Peter questions warily. Tony looks up at him to see the boy’s lip wobbling, head lifted away from where it had been tucked into Pepper’s side. His eyes are wide, tearful and scared. Tony doesn’t like it.

“What’s up Bubba?” Tony smiled warmly, reaching out to take his hand in hopes it would pass along some comfort, despite feeling like a panicked mess himself.

“Wha’s goin’ on?” He asks, leaning forward and lifting his arms for Tony to pull him into his lap. Tony does.

“Nothing you need to be scared about. I’m taking care of it. I won’t let anything bad happen to you, okay?”

Peter nods his head and hides his face in Tony’s shoulder, arms wrapping tightly around his neck. Tony goes back to flipping through the information on the tablet, patting Peter’s back just a couple times. The news anchor continues rambling about the events taking place at the Tower, and Tony can see the new pop-ups of news helicopters hovering at a safe distance from his Tower. God, he was so going to jail after this…

 ******  
**

“Alright, it looks like the guys have already taken out one of the drones. Shouldn’t be much longer.” He looks up at Pepper and Harley. “You two okay?”

“Yes Honey, we’re fine.” Pepper smiles. Then, she grimaces and readjusts her weight on the hard floor. “Just a bit uncomfortable.”

Tony frowns then peeks over the counter. He’s happy to see that the shades are practically all the way down. Now would be the best time to move in case JARVIS lost control of them again, or the bullets just so happened to be able to pierce through metal too.

“Let’s move then.” Tony makes move to stand up, but Harley staggers forward to grab his sleeve and pull him back down.

“What about the shooting?”

Tony smiles. “The shades are down, look,” he points to the metal shades covering the windows of the room. The bullets could be heard ricocheting off the thick metal with loud clangs. Harley slowly stands and looks back over his shoulder. The noise is scary and deafening, but safe…

Tony pushes Peter into Harley’s arms and steps over to help Pepper off the floor. He wraps an arm securely around Pepper’s waist, and Pepper wraps an arm around her stomach as Tony leads her and Harley out of the kitchen and into the safe room all the way down the hall. 

“You good Honey?” Tony questions worriedly as he helps her settle into the bed inside the room. He tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear and cups the side of her face as he rubs his thumb beneath her eyes. “You don’t feel too stressed, do you? ‘Cause I’m gonna fix all this, trust me.”

“I’m fine, Tony,” Pepper says, waving him off and gesturing for Harley and Peter to join her on the bed. “Go take care of what needs to be done. We’ll be fine.”

“Okay…” Tony trails off and takes a step back. “If you’re sure…” He slowly turns to walk out the room because he really does have a crapload of stuff to take care of thanks to the events of the morning, but then he turns back around. “Do you think… since you’re feeling good… that you might be able to work with SI’s PR or the legal team to try and get all this-”

Pepper smiles knowingly at him. “I’ll have it taken care of Tony. Don’t worry. By the end of the day, nobody will question why Peter and Harley are with you. Just try to keep from getting arrested until I get your name cleared, okay?”

“Yes ma’am,” Tony grinned, rushing forward to press a quick kiss to her forehead. He heads for the door again with a little more confidence in his step (because if Pepper says she can do something… she can do it) and makes it out into the hall before Harley intercepts him by running out of the room, out of breath and wild-eyed.

“Tony I can help.” 

Tony groans because he really doesn’t have time for the kid’s nonsense at the moment. “I need you to stay-”

“But I can help,” Harley insists once more. “You told me you trust me, and you said you needed all hands on deck. I got this. I can help you more than you think I can.”

“Yes,” Tony reasons slowly, “which is why I am giving you the most important job. I need you to stay up here with Pepper and Peter and keep them calm and safe until Coulson and Wilson show up.”

“What about after they show up?”

Tony refrains from snapping at the boy with a dry retort to stay put and follow his orders.

“Then I need you up here to make sure those two don’t end up killing each other. I don’t trust either of them by themselves. But if Coulson turns out to be Hydra, Wilson will take care of him and if Wilson tries to touch Pepper, Coulson will take care of him. They’re both insane, so I need you here to balance the scales. Got that?” 

Harley nods slowly.

“Good. Now stay here. Don’t let Coulson or Wilson convince you into anything JARVIS or Pepper don’t permit you to do. Got that? Don’t tell anybody, but I’m leaving you in charge. Don’t let Pepper overexert herself.”

“Okay, yes sir.” Harley nodded stiffly, shoulders squaring. 

“Good. I’ll see you soon kid, hopefully.” Then with that, Tony left to go get some much-needed answers from their latest guest.

* * *

“WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?!” Tony screamed. Richard’s head snapped to the side as Tony drove his fist into the side of his jaw. The man's upper body slumped forward in the chair, pink-tinted saliva hanging from his lip and swinging precariously above his lap where a pool of blood from previous drippings had landed. He coughed and a spittle patterned Tony’s arms and neck because he was still wearing his tank top from the night before instead of his usual long sleeve.

“Stark, I’m not,” he rasped, chapped lips puckering together multiple times as he fought to form proper words. “I’m not- what are you- I don’-don’ understand.”

“WHO DO YOU WORK FOR?!” Tony roared, hand moving to circle around the man’s throat. He squeezes, his own face red by the strain of his own strength. Richard grapples helplessly at his hand, gasping loudly as a stream of blood dribbles down his chin. Tony’s teeth are grit together in a tight grin as he squeezes harder, feeling the man’s neck begin giving way. 

“Nghckck,” Richard gasps, scratching at Tony’s hand, leaving ugly red scratches along his forearm. His eyes roll to the back of his head, mouth hung open like a baby bird as blood gurgled in the back of his throat.

Tony releases him just before he completely passes out, then immediately grabs ahold of a discarded knife he had thrown into the wall earlier and trails the tip down to push into the sensitive space of his windpipe that joined his neck and collarbone. Richard choked harshly. “Speak,” Tony demanded through gritted teeth.

“I-I-I-I work for-for Oscorp. I told you-” Richard gasped desperately, eyes blown wide in fear.

“LIAR!!” Tony screamed, pressing down harder, forcing a dollop of crimson blood to form around the tip of the knife. He can feel the cartilage trembling through the handle of the thin blade. “WHO ARE YOU WORKING FOR?!”

“Oscorp! Oscorp! I swear. We-we-we sometimes make stuff for Ross when he-he-he needs chemical weapons for foreign affairs and stuff, but-but that’s it I swear it!”

Tony doesn’t know if it’s his obvious loss of control that is scaring Parker into answering his questions or what, but it makes him damn happy to see it. So, he presses further.

“Hydra. You’re working for Hydra.”

“We-we aren’t,” Richard splutters. “They’ve reached out to us a-a couple times, sure, but-but me an Osborn both ‘greed it wouldn’ be good to get caught up with ‘em. Are they… are they-uum… did they say anything?”

Tony raises a brow suspiciously. “Why would they say something? What would they say?”

He can feel Richard’s thick swallow, “they-they’ve been watchin’ us. We-we got lots of stuff they want… 

Tony’s brow furrows as he begins piecing things together.

  
“How long ago did they contact you?” 

“Months ago. They-they started makin’ deals with some of our men… we-we still don’t know who all are Hydra. Sorta like what Shield’s goin’ through.”

  
“How long have you been working for Ross?” Tony lessens the pressure of the blade to allow him to speak clearly.

“Ever since you quit feeding him his toys. I’d say ‘bout f-five or so months maybe?”

Tony hums as he slowly processes. That wasn’t just a coincidence, and it may not be every answer to all his questions, but it's something. There’s still obviously something Richard is holding back, and Tony tries to figure out if that information was worth not killing him right then because after the events of the day… he really really needed a release and he feels that killing Parker would do just that for him… 

So, before he can change his mind, he reaches for the man’s hand and presses the blade of his knife into his wrist. 

The man writhes against him, attempting to pull away his hand, but only resulting in Tony drawing a long bloody slit along the length of his arm and wrist. Richard screams in horror as he watches the blood pool out from the laceration and begin coating his arm. Tony grins. 

His triumph is short-lived though because JARVIS just has to interrupt the moment. 

“Sir, your presence has been requested on the penthouse floor.”

He finds himself growling in irritation. It obviously wasn’t an emergency, or else JARVIS would have informed him.

“Is anyone in danger?”

“No, sir.”

Tony sighs.

“Who’s asking?”

“Mr. Allen, sir. He says it's urgent.”

“Then tell him to leave it urgently. I’m kind of busy.” He’s already reaching for Richard’s other wrist when JARVIS speaks again.

“He’s rather insistent sir.”

Tony hangs his head and sighs. He was _so_ close…

He didn’t want to just pull a quickie either. He wanted to enjoy this… wanted to take his time with it, but he knew he couldn’t now. Not in the midst of all this chaos going on.

“Godammit,” he grumbled, dropping the knife and looking up to see a rather pale Richard Parker staring back at him. “Shit.” He cursed again. “Tell Banner to get down here. Tell him to fix Parker up; make sure he doesn’t die an’ all that jazz.” He waves his hand dismissively as he exits the small room as he beelines for the elevator, leaving the two guards outside the door to keep an eye on his prisoner. 

The tension is still pushing against his restraints and he clenches his hands into tight fists to try and quell the abundance of emotions threatening to burst forth. After this was taken care of he could work on calming down and fixing this whole mess.

* * *

“What was so very urgent that I had to be dragged away from my very important business?” He growls immediately after he stepped from the elevator into his destroyed living room.

Everyone was there. Happy, Rhodey, Natasha, Allen, and of course the other five he had expected to be there.

“Why are y’all gathered up here like this is some kinda party?” He asked… just a bit peeved that they weren’t downstairs doing what he asked.

Rhodey steps forward and holds up a placating hand like he was prepared for Tony to lose it at any second. “Tones, man, it’s fine. The threats pretty much contained. Allen actually found the source.” Rhodes gestured to the lanky man across the room where he was fiddling with something in the corner.

“Gotta say I’m surprised Stark.” Wilson chirped, a hand in his pocket and the other hand braced against the cane he was using for recovery. “Don’t think I really wanted to believe you weren’t Hydra. Can’t say much ‘bout it now though, I guess. Kudos to you I s’pose. You won this round.”

Tony rolls his eyes and Sam laughs obnoxiously. Coulson ends up elbowing him in the side to shut him up and Tony likes him just a teeny bit more because of it.

Then, Allen is stepping away from the corner, inspecting something in his open palm before walking towards Tony. He holds out his hand to reveal tiny blocks of wiring. “Your place was bugged, sir. I’ve found 5 up here so far. And I found a few downstairs in the sleeping quarters as well as a couple on the common room floor near Rhodes’ office and the basement. I haven’t checked for your office yet.”

  
Tony frowned. “Someone’s planted bugs?”

Allen nods. “Lots of ‘em.”

  
“Well, how the hell did they get up here?! This place is on lockdown all hours of the day. No one gets in or out of here without my say-so.”

Bugs? Bugs?! There were bugs planted in his home and JARVIS didn’t even know! He’s furious. They do a sweep at least every three months. How was this possible? They are _always_ so careful.

“I don’t know sir…” Allen trails off timidly. “Is there-is there anyone new that has recently been permitted access to your suite.”

“No,” Tony shakes his head, perplexed, running his hand through his hair. “No there’s nobody. Pete and Harley are the only ones….” Tony trails off and freezes in place. He’s staring at the ground, hand paused halfway through combing through his hair. Then, slowly, he lifts his head and turns to look at Harley who had Peter in his arms and Pepper’s arm around his shoulders. Harley stared back, looking innocent and just as confused as him. But Tony remembers. He remembers last night when Harley was practically sobbing in his arms, claiming he’d done something horrible enough that Tony would never forgive him. He remembered Harley sitting beside him at his workbench, watching over his shoulder as Tony talked him through some of his more ambitious designs… he remembers how ridiculously quick the kid was able to break down his walls and earn his trust with nothing more than a few innocent smiles, timid bowings of the head, and excitable spiels about whatever it was that had captured his attention that day, and his inborn knack to find trouble just so he could prove his worth. He had been an innocent kid. A good kid, and Tony had been drawn to that, much like he had been drawn to Peter… but maybe trusting him so much so soon was a mistake...

“Harley?” Tony swallows thickly, lips thinning as they press together tightly. “Come over here please.” He sniffs and looks away as he rubbed a hand down his beard. A harsh breath escapes from his mouth as he shuffles on his feet. He doesn’t want to believe it… he doesn’t… but everything-everything is pointing to it being true.

Harley quietly hands Peter over to Rhodey and moves to approach him and Allen. All eyes watch nervously with held breaths. Even Sam and Coulson looked worried for the kid’s sake. When he stops in front of them, Tony nods down at the tiny devices resting in Allen’s open palm.

“Do these look at all familiar to you.”

Harley shakes his head, brows furrowing. “No, not really. Should they?”

Tony hums again and nods his head with a sharp intake of breath.

“Well,” he sighs, “it would make a lotta sense if they did.”

Harley looks at him with a hint of apprehension.

“Tony!” Pepper snaps angrily. “What in the world are you trying to insinuate?!” Pepper sounded absolutely outraged, but Tony holds up a hand to quiet her. It wasn’t the time and she knew it. They didn’t know anything about Harley. It was ridiculous to trust him; to believe he would never do something like this… because he did. He did this and Tony for the life of him can’t understand why he didn’t see it coming. He angles his head down to meet Harley’s eyes.

 “You’re pretty new here kid… and I made the mistake of putting faith in you a bit too soon.”

“Tony, what-” the boy begins, but Tony cuts him off with a glare.

“Don’t call me that you little bastard!”

Harley flinched back more violently than Tony has ever seen him do. His eyes are wide in panic and Tony almost feels sorry. “But I-I-I didn’t-”

“Shut it!” Tony snaps venomously, hand gesturing a quick zipping motion. “You’ve manipulated me and taken advantage of my trust. So, I will give you one more chance to fess up. Did you or did you not plant these bugs in here last night?”

Allen butted in with a worried crease in his brow. “Y’know now that you bring it up, Boss… I found lots of these things around the basement stairs and the secluded lounge area the kid hangs around a lot. They-they were the ones that shared the same wall as Mr. Rhodes office.”

Harley’s mouth fell open like a fish, eyes flickering between the two men desperately. “I-I-I didn’t I swear! Allen tell him! I would never do something like this!”

Allen remains abnormally silent. Eyes downcast in pity as he looked down at the kid, and it was easy to see that Harley was getting angry.

“I’m telling you I didn’t do it!” He hollered. “I’ve been set up!”

Tony nods solemnly. “I see. So… Hydra just _happened_ to get ahold of my weapons a week after I let you into my workshop where my blueprints are all splayed out for the world to see? The designs and weapons I actually showed you and explained to you because for some reason you were completely fascinated. And this man just happens to know the inner workings of my Tower… like JARVIS and the floor of my penthouse, and the fact that both you and Peter were _here_ ? And… hm… I assume you were simply curious about the details of my life and how this place was run. You somehow managed to guilt me into trusting you after you were so _easily_ captured by some of the most inexperienced of my men. And by golly, the best coincidence by far!” Tony laughed mockingly. “Hydra knows about Steve Rogers working with me… you seemed so surprised when you first found out kid a few weeks ago kid. Is that why Steve’s been having such a hard time with Ross? And, speaking of, what about the first time I met you… you were dead set on the fact that Ross was Hydra, something that not even Richard Parker knows yet. A man who has just told me that Hydra’s been stealing away some of their men… and guess who used to work for Oscorp… guess who holds the honor of being one of the few to have direct access and communication with JARVIS… and guess who spent the night in my penthouse for the first time last night, claiming that I’d never forgive him for some terrible thing he’s done… something I’d kill a man for... only to have Hydra infiltrate all of my AI’s systems, which I’ve personally taught you about, the next morning. Tell me I’m just imagining things, kid.”

Harley’s eyes are bloodshot, mouth open as he gasps in heavy breaths, but he doesn’t respond. 

“Is this what was making you feel so guilty last night boy?! You were gettin’ kinda nervous about the whole betrayal, being locked up here in the penthouse in the morning, when you knew Hydra was gonna come and take a shot at me?!”

“No!” Harley yelled, shaking his head violently. 

“Daddy?” Peter cried out in distress. “What you doin to Ha’ley?” Every neck in the room snapped over to look at Peter, most with wide eyes, but Tony didn’t have time to dive into that discussion. He’d rather finish the one he’s already started and get it over with. God, he hated this. He hated it so much. Why did things always have to end so badly?

"Not now Peter!” Tony snapped before his head twists to look back down at Harley. Peter’s entire body flinched at the harsh tone.

“Don’t yell at him you dick!” Harley shouted, stepping forward to shove him backward, but Tony’s solid as a rock and the push barely affects him. Instead, he narrows his eyes dangerously at the boy and Harley takes several steps back, but Tony grabbed ahold of his upper arm.

“You're a smart kid,” Tony sneers. “I gotta admit it. You had me fooled. I was ready to be a father-figure for you if that’s what you wanted; adopt ya even… you had me, kid, I’ll admit it, but this is too far. I don’t put up with Hydra in my home. Not around my wife or my kid, understand?”

“Tony please, I didn’ do any of this. I would never-”

“Tell me what you did then!” Tony screamed. “Tell me what had you so goddamn guilty that you couldn’t even admit it to my face! What makes you feel more guilt than betraying the only people since your mother that have shown you any love?” His tone drops and his eyes narrow. “Pep’s gonna be heartbroken. Pete too. Happy and Rhodes even… you were a prick, but they liked ya. They liked you a lot kid. You had a real future here and not just a job. A family too… and you’ve ruined it. So, you got nothin’ else to lose kid, you’re goin’ through the wringer either way. Might as well spit it out and get it off your chest.”

“Tony!” Pepper scolded, tears in her eyes. Then her voice broke into a sob and she reached out as if she were going to grab onto Harley and hug him, but Happy held her back with an outstretched arm. “Don’t do this, please. He wouldn’t do something like this Tony. Just think. He wouldn’t… he wouldn’t. Tony please.” She lifted a hand to her mouth to stifle a sob and Tony swallowed one of his own. His voice turned raspy and he squeezed his eyes closed to regain focus. He couldn’t let his feelings get in the way. The kid had put everyone he cared for in danger. He did it on purpose and that was unacceptable.

“Not now Pepper!” He growled to keep his voice from breaking and he stared at the kid, expecting an answer. Hoping the answer would give Tony reason to believe him. Believe that the kid wouldn’t do something like this.

“I-I-I,” Harley stuttered, voice quiet and soft. His gaze dropped to his feet and Tony didn’t tap his chin to make him look up like he would usually do. No. He never wanted to touch the kid again… not after he did something like this. “I-you said you’d forgive me…”

You could practically hear Tony choke on the sharp intake of air. That was a confession more than anything else.

“That was before I found out you’ve been lying to me this whole time, kid. I knew there was somethin’ wrong with ya. No kid like you should be as _good_ as you were. No kid comes out of a life like yours unscathed and determined to do what’s right… You had too good a heart… but I guess you needed me to believe that to get on my good side, huh? I can’t believe this,” Tony growls to cover his whimper, running a hand through his hair. “We were almost due for another bug sweep too. How could you?! The same week I start lettin’ you roam around a little bit by yourself you go and do something like this?”

“Tony please, you gotta believe me. I didn’t-”

Tony interrupts him. “Do you know what this could mean for me kid?! I can lose everything! I’ll be going to prison for this probably. Then there’ll be nothin’ else stopping Hydra. I can’t believe this. You put Pepper and Peter in danger.” Tony hears Peter’s loud sobs and he turns to see the boy tucked into Rhodey’s shoulder. Pepper’s glaring at him, face red, accentuated by the large tears rolling down her cheeks.

“This isn’t what I was talkin’ ‘bout last night I swear!” Harley insisted desperately. “I would never do this to you. I-I-I this is… this is the best thing that’s ever happened-”

“I’m sick and tired of your stupid sob story you little shit! I trusted you! I gave you one responsibility! One! To protect the people most important to me!... And you used to be one of them you little brat,” Tony roared. Then his voice dropped to a whisper and he lifted a hand to grab a fistful of the kid’s hair. “They could have been killed and it would have been your fault,”  Harley flinched away violently, hands lifting to press into his face as he sobbed loudly. 

“‘Ony stop it! S’op it, Tony, stop! Don’ hurt ‘im p’ease!” Peter wailed loudly. Tony barely registered the abrupt name change and he waves for Rhodey to take him into the next room. He couldn’t-he couldn’t handle this. His-his life was falling apart one layer at a time. Each layer more valuable to him than the last. He’s just… he’s just so angry. He couldn’t believe Harley would do something like this. He couldn’t believe the boy he could have potentially thought of as his own son would betray him like this. 

Harley’s arms crossed over his chest, head bowed as tears pooled from his eyes and Tony has to give him credit for sticking to this little cover story for so long.

“I would never…”

“But your guilty ‘bout something aren’t ya?” Tony pressed. “What could you have possibly have done that I don’t already know about? You knew I wouldn’t ever forgive you for doing something like this. You knew. That’s why you didn’t tell me…”

“That’s not it I promise!” Harley screamed, chin tucked close to his chest as his head shook back and forth.

“Then what was it kid, ‘cause I’m gettin’ sick and tired of listenin’ to your sorry excuses. Let’s hear it. Let’s hear the last one. Spit it out.”

Harley looked up at him, tears shining brightly in his eyes and Tony sees something terrifying, gut-wrenching, heart-stopping. Fear, betrayal, broken trust, and guilt… so, _so_ much guilt. More than he’s ever seen felt by one human being. The air’s almost knocked out of him with the sudden revelation that he was wrong. He was so, so wrong. Harley would never do something like this and he doesn’t know why he could have ever thought he did. No 14-year-old kid could fake innocence like this; not even Pepper was able to hold together her persona after he had figured her out…It was just a coincidence. That’s all it was and that’s all it will ever be… Surely, the kid had been set up. 

Tony gulped, eyes softening and glimmering with regret, and he opened his mouth to apologize, praying to anyone that would listen that he might be able to fix this. That there might be some way to make this right again… but Harley beat him to it, and the words that fell from the kid’s mouth froze any words that were on the verge of spilling from his own.

He sniffed and rubbed his nose with his sleeve. “I-I killed my Mom.” He lifted his head and stared straight at Tony with a sneer. “I told you it was my fault.”

And with that, the boy spun on his heel and ran from the room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If I'm being honest, I don't really like the way this chapter turned out. It might just because I'm not used to writing this kind of angst and drama, but oh well. I hope I'm just being overly critical and it wasn't as cheesy as I felt it was. Anywho… as long as you guys were able to enjoy it I'm happy. Sorry about all the angst... so yeah. Don't hate me lol.
> 
> I hope I'll be able to update next Friday like usual, but I don't know for sure. I have a couple term papers to write and my semester classes are starting to finish up, but I was able to pump this one out even despite all the craziness, so who knows.
> 
> Thanks for reading.


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, sorry for the longer than usual wait... I wanted to get all my other work done so I wouldn't feel as stressed to get this chapter out on time. I wanted it to be good because it's kinda important (not promising it's perfect lol).
> 
> Anyways, just a couple minor TRIGGER WARNINGS... lots and lots of self hate. Very minor mention of suicide. And a fairly graphic plot (I guess you could say).
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy it...

“Sir, I don’t understand. I could have had him locked up by the end of the month. I just needed a couple more weeks, but any chance of that is ruined now.” Ross spoke into the burner phone with a hushed tone, eyes flickering towards the door of his office where his bodyguards were impatiently waiting. They hadn’t left him alone since the interrupted broadcast that morning. They were _thoroughly_ convinced that he was in some sort of terrible danger.

“Ross,” the man on the line sighed exasperatedly, but he spoke with a cool sereneness, “I told you to keep him out of the way, not to make him disappear. He’s still useful despite the minor character defects.” His voice remained heavy and gravelly as if he were forcing his tone to remain even and unaffected. A voice screaming with years of use and a lifetime of cigars.

Ross didn’t say a word in response. He wasn’t quite brave enough to argue the point further. Instead, his face puckered into a troubled frown, knowing the man wouldn’t be able to see him.

“Keep your hands off that man and stay out of his business, Thaddeus. He has more power than you could ever dream of and if you piss him off, I’m sure he won’t hesitate to put you in your place. He’s on edge; ready to spill over, and once he realizes the power he’s capable of no justice system of yours will be able to stop him. You’re in the place I want you Ross, don’t tamper with it. I put too much work into making you President and if you ruin that then I’m not going to be very happy with you. I know how Anthony works. I’ll be dealing with him here on out. Leave him be or I’ll be sure you’re tried for treason.”

“But sir, Stark is a threat to our progress. Surely you don’t want him to end up interfering--”

“He’s not useful to me in the grave or in prison. All he needs is a change of heart… and that will take some time. I do need a worthy successor after all. Not every man is capable of handling the power of the world. And I won’t be living forever. Anthony is our best chance at maintaining and achieving our goal. Even though he’s been misguided and corrupted with that stupid sense of domesticity,” the man spits the word out with a growl, “he is still a Stark.”

“But sir, you said yourself that Stark isn’t capable of it-”

“In his current condition, he is not. He is too focused on his feelings rather than what needs to be done. Now, that I’ve challenged the safety of those feelings, it should knock some sense into him.” The man chuckled obnoxiously. “I needed to rile Anthony up; give him incentive to prove himself. It shouldn’t take too long. The stress will get to him eventually and he’ll be in need of any sense of accomplishment. He’ll need something to satiate that large ego of his. Always been spiteful, that one; started even as a child.”

“Just like his father.” Ross grumbled into the receiver.

“Yes,” the man laughed in agreement, “exactly like his father... Alright, that’s enough small talk. Do as your told; leave Anthony alone. Keep an eye on him. Also, influence Mr. Osborn to go ahead and gather a rescue party to grab Parker. The man still has some things to finish up for me. Oh, and contact that boy Allen as well. He needs to ensure that Stark makes it to the facility tomorrow. He needs to feel like he has achieved the upper hand.”

“Of course, sir,” Ross sighed, “and what should be waiting for him there?”

“Ambush him. Make it look real, but no lethal shots. He needs to make it inside alive.” There was a long pause and Ross was unsure if the discussion had come to its end. But the man speaks once more. “This time tomorrow night, we’ll have taken our first step to fulfilling our legacy.”

* * *

Harley runs. He doesn’t even bother with the elevator, since that just worked _so_ well last time, and he bolts for the door hiding the stairs. He can hear the shouts behind him, but the screaming in his head insisting that he run away is far louder. The hot tears trail down his cheeks and he sucks in a sharp breath at the painful, acidic sting they leave in their wake. His eyes burn and he can’t catch a breath… His nose is stuffy and now he can’t breathe and he just- he just can’t breathe! It’s like Asher and the guys all over again… but this time Tony isn’t going to be there to help calm him down with reassuring words and strong arms to protect him from the world. He doubts Tony wants to be anywhere near him ever again and that small idea has the tears growing hotter.

The panic doesn’t stop him though. He continues running towards the staircase, throwing his shoulder against the heavy metal door and began flying down the stairs. He stumbles over his own feet several times, nearly tumbling the rest of the way down the concrete staircase. It could have killed him and he wouldn’t have cared… he just told a room full of people the one thing he swore would go to the grave with him after Tony Stark accused him of being a traitor… the man he trusted more than himself believed him to be a traitor. The man that had _promised_ he would be forgiving no matter what he had done because he trusted him, and-and… he loved him (even though he never exactly said it). Thinking about the lie the man had led him to believe only made him cry harder. 

And the thought made him sick. He stumbled onto the next floor landing with such speed he collided into the wall ahead with a hand braced against it to catch his fall. He bends abruptly at the waist, gasping for air. Then he chokes on his own lung and the next thing he knows he’s hunkered over, dry heaving and sobbing with his body pressed into the cold stone of the wall. Terrible retching sounds echo through the stairwell and he can taste bile and thick spit start to coat his tongue.

Tony thought he was a traitor…

Tony hated him…

Tony believed he recklessly put Pepper and Peter in danger. Tony said it would have been his fault if something happened… he would have been the only one to blame if Pepper or Peter had been hurt.

...just like it was his fault that his mother was dead. He killed her. He aimed, pulled the trigger, and shot her right between the eyes with his sister restrained, thrashing, screaming, and begging for him to _just put the gun down!_ … but he didn’t. He didn't listen to her. Instead, he looked his mother straight in the eye as he pressed back against the hard sob blooming in his chest. He never remembered even pulling the trigger. He could only remember the feeling after hearing the deafening bang that resounded through the house and the hard jolt that vibrated through his hand. It was dread. He had screamed. He was sure of it. He couldn’t hear it over the ringing in his ears, but his throat was scratched dry by the time the ringing stopped. The sight of the limp form of his mother bent over their dining table with a small stream of blood pouring from the tiny wound between the eyes was forever burned into his dreams. It had been a perfect shot. Then, there was his sister sitting upright beside her, a matching dot of crimson blood settled between her own bloodshot eyes as he mechanically went about cooking and serving the late breakfast he was supposed to lay out in front of their decaying forms. It was a moment he had locked away. A memory his mind had suppressed so vigorously he sometimes forgot where his unrelenting need for companionship stemmed from.

He could have killed his second mother today… It would have been his fault even though it wasn’t. He would have been the one to blame… What if he hadn’t known he messed up like he hadn’t known he messed up the night he was forced to kill his mother? What if this whole time he had been unintentionally feeding information to the enemy? What if he really was to blame? Pepper, Peter, Morgan, and Tony were all in danger… the whole Tower was in danger. The whole organization has been exposed, lying belly up and practically waiting for Hydra to swallow them whole... and it was all his fault. Things were just so messed up.

History tended to repeat itself he supposed.

He heaved again, but this time a small string of bile and saliva spilled from his gasping mouth and he nearly choked on the sour scratch it made against his throat as it rode up. His tears mingled with the sweat coating his face and his body wracked with another violent sob. He sobbed for his mother, his sister, Pepper, Peter, and Tony. He knew he never deserved the second family he had been so close to having; not when he ruined the first one he had. But with them he could forget, and he could finally feel normal and loved and he was drawn to that despite his fervent attempts to remain immune to the kindness. He knew it would never last and he had tried to protect himself from the inevitable letdown, but… at the same time he supposed it's normal for people to become addicted to things that takes away their pain. 

Yet, now, with the wounds open, fresh, and screaming, the beginning of an old memory lingers in his mind and he fines a powerful abhorrence gurgling up his throat, through the heavy pool of spit drooling from his mouth.

It wasn’t just his fault...

_Harley ran to answer the door. He rubbed the flour and sugar from his hands onto his dark jeans, laughing at a joke his mother had poorly delivered just to make his sister laugh. They were baking cookies for his sister’s bake sale the next day and their dog Gomer was having the time of his life lapping up all the spilled ingredients._

_Another series of harsh knocks banged against the wooden door. Harley rolled his eyes through his laughter. “I’m comin’, I’m comin’. Be patient, Geez.”_

_He could hear his sister, Leah, singing in the kitchen and he threw open the door, wearing an innocent, carefree smile. He recognized the uninvited guest instantly and he froze, rooted to the spot in the doorway. His eyes widened and he could physically feel his heart beginning to beat out of his chest. “Uhh, s-s-sir.” His greeted stiffly, back straightening so he stood as tall as a 13-year-old of his stature could. “How um- how can I help you?” He couldn’t help but notice the blood staining the cuff of the man’s sleeve._

_“You messed up Keener.” The man scowled angrily._

_“I don’t- I don’t understand sir.” Harley stammered._

_He had started working for Oscorp when he was 11, after his father stopped sending his mother money and disappeared off the face of the planet. So, he started picking up jobs to help with the bills… his mother didn’t know about his “extracurriculars”. She was never supposed to know. She’d have a heart attack if she found out he had fallen into the same nasty business his father had. So, to avoid her disappointed frown he’d just sneak cash into her purse or between the couch cushions and hope she wouldn’t question it… work was never supposed to follow him home though._

_“The G-2 chemical shipment to Martinez didn’t go through. He claims he was never informed of the pickup time. It got confiscated at the docks. You have one job-”_

_“I didn’t have anything to do with that shipment!” Harley insisted with narrowed brows. “I was off at Long Island talkin’ to Bobby ‘bout next month. I’ve been out there every day this week. Charlie changed my assignment. I haven’t **touched** the shipment with Martinez.”_

_“Don’t get smart with me, boy.” The man didn’t even bother to offer another half-assed excuse. instead, he growled in irritation tried to shove Harley out the way so he could step into the cramped home. “I told you you were gonna regret it if you messed up again.” He lifted a hand to rub at his face, speaking under his breath. “I swear you’re as moronic as your father.”_

_“Leave my family out of this Parker,” Harley scowled, moving to stand toe-to-toe with the man, sizing him up despite being at least a foot and a half shorter. "Mrs. Parker made you promise to leave them be, remember? She’s friends with my Mom!”_

_That particular statement seemed to hit a sensitive nerve with the man and he growled, low and threatening in the back of his throat._

_“Mary’s outta the picture. Stark killed her.” Harley couldn’t help but catch onto the poorly put together lie nearly instantly. He eyed the blood stained on the man’s cuffs then the angry scowl on his face and he gulped so hard it hurt. This wouldn’t be ending very well. Richard Parker was pissed… and something in the back of his mind was telling him it wasn’t just about the failed shipment. Heck, the man was rarely involved with anything beyond experimenting with chemicals in his lab. Nope. This was most definitely personal._

_“You should have done your job **Keener**.” He spat out the word in disgust, but Harley kept a neutral face and refused to flinch. He didn't want to give the man that satisfaction. Parker didn’t seem to like that very much, so he raised his hand and roared. “Get out of the way boy!”_

_Harley was nearly thrown to the ground by the force of the blow, and soon after he scrambled back to his feet, he heard a pair of hurried footsteps rushing into the room. “Harley? Honey? Who was at the door?”_

_It was his mom. A worried frown was etched onto her face as she used a cloth to wipe stray batter from her cheek._

_“It’s nobody Ma-” Harley rushed out, heart palpitating inside his chest in panic. He was ready to jump into action at any moment. Anything he needed to do. If that meant throwing himself at a man twice his size to give his mother and sister time to escape, he'd do it. It was **his** job to protect them now after all._

_“Ms. Keener,” Richard interrupted with a sickly-sweet smile. Harley's entire body stuttered with a surprised jolt. Parker ignored him and reached for his mother's hand. Her eyes narrowed warily, but she held out her hand for him and he kissed the back of it._

_“I was just telling your son about something. Y’know, he’s much like his father.” He paused and looked at her, eyes glinting with amusement. “I’m surprised you don’t remember me.”_

_His mother’s brows furrowed together contemplatively as she studied the man’s face as if sear hung for any familiarity. “You-you… Richard? Richard Parker?” Her face split into a happy smile and Harley could only stare. “It’s so good to see you! I almost didn’t recognize you with the new beard. How are you? How’s Mary?”_

_“Mary’s doing just fine,” Richard lied easily. Harley shuddered… he needed to get them out of here. **Now**._

_“That’s good to hear.” Harley’s mother smiled. “Would you like something to eat? A cookie maybe? The first batch just came from the oven… I can’t promise they will be any good though.”_

_Richard laughed, casting a smirk towards Harley who stood to the side of the door with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. “That would be lovely. I s’pose I could stick around for a while.”_

Harley snapped back to reality when he heard a loud bang from above and two familiar voices calling for him. Happy and Allen... he didn’t want to talk to either of them right now. For all he knew, they were going to drag him back up to Tony so the man could have his way with him. He didn’t think he could handle that… not when Tony had been so kind and loving… he’d never be able to trust anyone again. He didn’t want to give the man the opportunity to break any more of his promises.

“Harley! Kid!” They shouted for him and Harley pushed against the wall he was leaning against and threw himself down the next set of stairs. His legs felt like jelly beneath him, but… he just needed to get away… he couldn't face Tony.

* * *

Tony stare was blank as he watched the door leading to the stairs slam closed behind the kid.

Then, all at once, commotion broke out around him. It was loud and suffocating; every noise that he hated was sounding all at once. Pepper was screaming at him through her wet tears, Peter could still be heard wailing from the other room, and both Allen and Happy were questioning him for instruction on their next course of action.  But all that noise was drowned out, fading into an annoying hum in the back of his mind. It couldn’t be heard over the ringing, the echoing bang of the door and the violent screaming in his head… because he had messed up. He’d messed up bad and there was a good chance that it could never be fixed.

It was all just a jumbled mix of noise, anxiety, and chaos… and it was- it was making him panic. His head couldn’t make sense of it, but his body seemed to be able to. He felt his chest seizing and his left wrist burned. There was so much activity going on, so much of his life that was being torn apart layer by layer and he just- he couldn’t handle this for very much longer. He couldn’t-- he didn’t think he could keep control of himself much longer. The screaming was getting too loud, and his resolve was wearing thin. He always hears the voices in his head, telling him what to do-- it’s nothing new… and he can’t help but listen to them every. Single. Damn. Time. This was different… he couldn’t run away. Not this time. Because if he ran there would be nothing left for him if he ever decided to come back.

Pepper’s voice was the first to filter in through the thick cloud of angst in his mind. He feels dizzy and nauseous and for a split second he can’t place who he was or why he’s there. Then, Pepper shouts, loud and shrill and it sends a jolt to his brain. He could feel the slight glaze in his eyes clear away as he turned his head to look at her, red in the face with tears trailing rapidly down her shining cheeks. Natasha and Coulson both helped her to the couch and Tony watched silently as she continued screaming obscenities at him… he didn’t blame her. The voices in his head are doing the same.

He couldn’t be absolutely certain what his face looked like, but he was sure he appeared to be at least a bit drained and put-off. He rubbed discreetly at his eyes, clearing away the slight moisture. Happy and Allen’s panicked questions were still caught in the mist of dazed confusion as if he were in a state of shock. He kneaded his palms with the tips of his nails to test if he were there; alive and breathing… that all this had actually just happened… he felt the tight pinch and he grit his teeth. A strangled growl was pushed from his mouth and he hung his head. It hurt. There was just _too much_ going on.

“Rhodes,” he breathed out heavily, head bent to stare at the ground and eyes dark. “Where’s Rhodes?”

“In the room with the kid.”

Tony could just barely make out Peter’s cries from the next room over Pepper’s angry shouts.

Maybe he made some sort of vague hand gesture, or maybe Happy was that great at reading his mind. He didn’t know. All he knew was one moment he was struggling to stand on his own two feet and the next his best friend was there with a tight grip on both his arms, holding him up like he’d been doing all these years.

His head snaps up to stare at Rhodey and his hands lift to grip the man’s biceps in return, a manic look in his eyes as he chokes on his own tongue. He barely turns his head in search of Peter to find the child cuddled against Pepper as his wife rocked them both back and forth while sitting on the couch. He turns back to Rhodey and swallows hard, mouth opening to force words out… but… but something was caught in his throat and he couldn’t breathe.

“Rhodey…” he gasped, knees nearly buckling beneath him. Rhodey’s brows furrow together and he rights him, lifting a hand to cup the side of his neck reassuringly so they’d be looking eye to eye. Tony could feel the eyes staring. He could feel them burning into his body from every angle. It was degrading and shameful, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care. Everything was going wrong and it was nothing in comparison. He could only hope Sam, Coulson, and Natasha wouldn’t find a way to use his weakness against him now that they’ve witnessed firsthand the state it leaves him. 

That’s why no man in his position should love anything. Why nothing should love him in return. Why he shouldn’t trust, and laugh, and _feel_. This was why he didn’t deserve goodness. He never deserved it, even as a child. The monsters were everywhere, eating him alive from the inside out until the evil was all that was left in its wake. He didn’t deserve happiness because all he would ever do was take it away from people that did.

“I know this is tough Tones… but you need to look at me…” Tony does, eyes red and blown wide as he slowly comes down from his high state of shock. Too much; too fast. It was just getting to be _too much_. 

This just isn’t right. This shouldn’t be happening… it shouldn’t be affecting him like it was. He was Anthony Stark! A Stark! And he was freaking out… over what?! The fact that he’d potentially lost the practically nonexistent bond he’d formed with a random runt off the streets? He was fine… he should be fine. He’s _fine_.

“Talk to me Tones.” Rhodey instructs firmly, hand guiding Tony’s jaw to look at him when his eyes wandered… maybe this was more than shock. Maybe his body was more than just going into shock… because now he couldn’t remember. He couldn’t process and for some reason he can’t feel. “Tell me if I need to send someone to catch that kid before he does something worse. Just nod “yes” or “no”.”

Tony mind draws an ugly blank. Not the peaceful ignorance he’s wished for on many occasions. No… this is that relentless pressure you get in your chest after the strain of carrying a heavy weight. It was the fight to form words… any words… literally anything to explain that this was all just so messed up and for some reason he couldn’t remember it despite the ugly flashes of memories flooding his thoughts with scary accuracy. He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t remember and even though he wanted to scream he couldn’t because his father had his hand wrapped around his throat… glaring at him and screaming at him for freezing, for thinking he could handle a life like this and still be normal. It was where all he could see was Harley and Peter and Pepper… and his father. It was the worst kind of blank.

“Tones,” Rhodey’s voice took on a tender tone. He stared at Tony, hand shifting from its demanding grip to a comforting support, thumb swiping in front of his ear. “I know this has gotta be hard for you. You’ve gone through a lot these past months… but you need to tell me if Harley’s the reason behind this. He knows too much and we can’t risk him getting out the Tower.

Tony stares and he sucks in a quick breath. 

“Don’t let him leave.”

Those were the only words he could force out. He couldn’t explain that this was all just a big misunderstanding. He just couldn’t let him go. Not with at least saying goodbye.

So, he watched as both Happy and Allen ran for the door Harley bolted out of. He glanced over at the other 3 lingering in an uncanny silence. Romanoff and Coulson turned away, backs erect and face expressionless… but Sam stared. Stared straight into his soul with a calculating eye and a pitying frown. At that, Tony’s breath returned, and he could hear his heart beating and Peter’s quiet sniffling. So, he breathed deep then scowled, nostrils flaring wildly and eyes darkening to salvage any dignity he may have had left. Then he turned away from Sam, left Rhodey to deal with the rest of the chaos going on in his living room and he headed for the elevator.

He _really_ needed a drink…

* * *

Later that evening, after Pepper and Rhodey shooed away Coulson, Sam, and Romanoff, Rhodey helped her and Peter into bed. Both were obviously exhausted. Their eyes were bloodshot, and Peter hadn't spoken a word since a few minutes after Tony left. Those words being spoken in a quivering whisper. _("Why would Tony do dat?")_

Rhodey stuck around for a while, making sure the attack was still officially neutralized and that both Pepper and Peter would be okay. He left after the first movie, kissing Pepper on the cheek and ruffling Peter's hair affectionately. Peter seemed surprised by the sudden display of affection on the man’s part and Rhodey only smiled down at him. Despite his constant complaining, he did have a bit of a soft spot for the boy.

"I'm sorry this happened Pep…" he trailed off quietly, eyes downcast as he released a heavy sigh. "I-I-I'm not sure how it'll all turn out in the end, but… Maybe I can talk to Tony…"

Pepper cups his cheek with the arm not wrapped around Peter, and she smiles up at him. "It's okay Jimmy. This isn't your fault." Tears leak from her eyes and she quickly swipes them away, and then her shaky smile angles down into a serious frown. "But you tell Anthony that he better not lay a hand on that little boy's head or he'll be seeing divorce papers on his desk in the morning. If he wants him gone, I’ll take him and Peter and leave for good."

Rhodey jerks suddenly. "Pep… please… think about this. Tony's as heartbroken about this as you are. You shoulda seen him: he could barely breathe. He loves Harley too and this is hitting him hard.” Pepper doesn’t dignify him with a response. She just continues mindlessly combing through Peter’s hair. More tears fall and she bites her lip… the thought that the man she loves would hurt their child. It makes her sick. “P-Pep c'mon. He's only trying to keep you and Pete safe. If Harley's really working for Hydra… he's dangerous. He's been lying to you this whole time-"

"NO HE NOT!!" Peter screams, sitting up with a sudden jerk. He slams his fists on the fluffy comforter of the bed. "Ha'ley good!" He insists through a stuttered intake of breath. His entire body heaves as he struggles to catch a breath through his fit of rage.

"Okay, okay," Rhodey placated gently. "It's okay Pete…"

Peter stares at him through teary eyes and he falls against Pepper to press his cheek into her chest, but he doesn't tear his eyes away from Rhodey. 

"He my brot’er, Rhodey. He’s good." 

Rhodey sighed and chuckled humorlessly under his breath. "Yeah, I know buddy. Why don't you get some rest…?"

Pepper nods shakily, pulling Peter closer. She dismisses Rhodey with a wave of her hand and she cradles the little boy carefully in her arms, pressing her face into his soft, curly hair. She cries. She kisses his head and cries. It's something she hates.

She never used to cry. 

Never.

But then Tony Stark had to go and knock her up-- stupid hormones--… and then these kids showed up and made her start _caring_. If this Is what caring felt like, she most definitely hated it. She remembered when she’d been heartless enough to leave behind any child of an old mark. She didn’t used to care… but ever since that small taste of loss she received... She could never deny a child. Never. Especially not one she’d already dreamed of calling her own.

"Is Tony gonna f'give Ha'ley? He didn' do nothin' wrong Mama." Peter muttered into her shirt; tiny hand curled tighter into the hem of the soft fabric.

"I don't know baby." Pepper sighs heavily. "Tony…" for some reason saying the name felt wrong on her tongue… She gulped. "Tony thinks Harley did something very bad. Y'know sometimes when kids do bad things, grownups get mad because they love them and know they can do better."

Peter sniffles and sits up to look Pepper in the eyes. "So-so Tony still loves Ha'ley? Tony still Ha'ley's Daddy? He’s not gonna hurt ‘im?"

Peppers mouth opens, ready to answer… but she's not sure. She can't be for certain. She wants to believe Tony's accusations were simply heat of the moment; simply a result of an overabundance of stress and activity. But… despite her firm conviction that Harley could never do what Tony accuses him off, there is still a lingering doubt in the back of her head telling her it makes sense. She can't help but wonder if Tony's right… if one of the boys they had adopted into their life had betrayed them so horrifically. She decided not to dwell on it… Harley would never be capable of something so evil. She was sure of it. Then again, turning a blind eye out of attachment and admiration was when people in their line of work tended to get screwed. Still… Harley wouldn’t do that. 

However… what Tony believed is a different matter. He may care for Harley. He may be heartbroken that the boy turned against him, but that wouldn’t stop him. Tony was a man of logic and action. He would never sacrifice the protection of something he loved more to have something he loved less.

"I-I-I don't know baby… He still loves you though. That will never change. He can still be your Daddy if you want."

Peter's lip quivers violently and he shakes his head emphatically, but he doesn't say a word. 

"It's okay baby." Pepper whispers into his hair, hugging him tighter to her body. Her heart drops, but she’s not sure why because she’s mad at Tony too...  "It's okay. It'll be okay, I promise." 

She so desperately wants to slap Anthony Stark in the face.

Later that night, after Pepper tucks an already sleeping Peter into his toddler bed, she makes her way into the Living room, settles on the couch, and waits. She's calm. She plans for a peaceful conversation because that's the best way to get her point across with her defensive husband.

It isn't even an hour later until Tony's stumbling out of the elevator, reeking of alcohol and eyes bloodshot. She finds herself growing angry. 

"Tony?" She questions, eyes narrowing as she pushes herself off the couch. "Are you _drunk_?"

Tony's head bounces before turning to look towards her with a dull glare. He looks like he's halfway down the trek to hell. "Wassit to you?" He slurs.

Pepper bristles, nostrils flaring angrily. "You know… I was going to try and have a reasonable conversation, but that's obviously not going to happen with you like this." She turns on her heel and starts for her room. "Don't bother coming to bed. I'd rather not look at you for another second."

"Hey!" Tony roars loudly. She hears his stumbling footsteps behind her and she braces herself. "Don't you walk away from me!" 

Pepper whirls around and glares at him, hands fisted at her side. "Well, what do you want me to do then Anthony?!"

"Don't call me that!" He shouts, lifting a shaky hand to point his finger at her. 

"I can damn well call you whatever the hell I want!" Pepper shouts right back. "You've messed up too much to reserve the right to argue with me right now."

"I screwed up! I get it! But ya can't blame me!" Tony stumbles closer to her, voicing the argument he’d been repeating like a mantra in his head. Just something to keep himself from firing a bullet into his mouth. Pepper didn’t know that though. She could just smell the alcohol on her breath, the hot air stinging her eyes, and the manic look in the man’s eyes.

"Yes, I can!" Pepper shouts. "You threatened a child! A child that trusts you and loves you, and you went and accused him of trying to kill us! How can I not blame you for that Tony?! He was our child. He was going to be _our_ child!" Her voice rose an octave. “I even had the paperwork from legal and PR to cover the kidnapping accusation! Just one more week and he would have been our son-”

"I 's tryin' ta protect you!!!" Tony's entire face drains of color and he shouts at the top of his lungs. "He-he-he I can't just-"

"Why would you even _think_ he's capable of something like that?"

"I don't know!" Tony's hands fly up to cradle his head and a strangled groan escapes him. "I don't know!" His voice echoes, scratching madly at his throat as he forces the words through his own rampaging thoughts. "I don't know I don't know I don't know! I messed up! Everything was just-- it was just! I couldn' handle it! Every-everythin' was jus-jus' wrong an-an' I got mad! I got mad at me for lettin' him anywhere near you!! I hated that I coulda got blindsided by a stupid kid--"

"You didn't!" Pepper screams. "He isn't responsible for this! Didn't you hear him?! Nobody can lie that well, Tony! He was heartbroken!"

"You don't think I know that!!" Tony's voice raised in volume and Pepper flinched back. "You don't think I know I just ruint everythin'. I've ruint everythin'! I'll never be able to fix it an-an' I just!" He groans loudly and turns to throw his fist into the wall. The dry wall breaks, and his fist goes through, dust and stone falling around his hand as he screams out in his anger. "It’s my fault!! I know!!! I messed up you don't gotta shove it in my face!!" He turns to look at Pepper, tears streaking down his face and he breathes in her expression. She's scared… she's scared of him. Peter’s scared of him. Harley’s scared of him… everyone is scared of him… and they damn well should be...

She wasn't used to him acting out as a raging drunk. She had only experienced it once, and after what Tony had done… he swore to never drink himself to that point again… yet, here he was…

He took a step forward, eyes furrowing together in worry. He didn’t want her to be afraid. He couldn’t handle her being afraid. He just couldn’t… She takes a step away. 

"Tony, don't--" she warns with a shaky voice. She holds out a hand to stop him and Tony ignores her. He takes another step. He couldn’t let her be afraid. "Tony no! Don't make me call Rhodey up here. You're drunk… don’t--just don’t."

He doesn't know why he doesn't listen. Maybe it's the liquor, or maybe it's the unexplainable need to just hold her in his arms and apologize over and over so she would just forgive him and love him and hold him while he cried. He needed someone to forgive him… because he will never forgive himself. 

But that one more step was a mistake. A mistake that led to his heart being broken in more ways than one. 

"Nooooooo!!" There was a loud high-pitched screech followed by Peter darting from the hall with bright red cheeks and angry tears shimmering in the poor lighting of the ruined room. Tony startles, jerking back as he watches Peter quite literally attack him. 

He kicks and punches at his leg. He scratches, fisting his hands in Tony's jean's and pulling to try and trip him. "Nooo!" He screams, continuing to strike him, angling his head to bite Tony's thigh with his sharp teeth. Tony scrambles back as Peter's tint teeth dig into his flesh and Peter goes in again, attacking relentlessly with the intention of drawing as much blood as possible. 

"Stay away from my Mama!!" The boy screeches, stomping his foot onto Tony's socked feet. He pinches his leg with a strong fist and Tony tries jerking away again but he stumbles and falls back on his ass. Peter doesn't hesitate. He scrambles and moves to Tony's face, quite literally drawing blood from his violent scratches. Tony tries swatting him away with careful hands, but he refrains from too much; terrified that he might end up hurting the child in some way. So, he settles on blocking his face to protect it from the boy’s relentless beating. How could he blame the boy?

"Don't you touch 'er!! I won' let you hurt her!"

"Petey, I'm not--" Tony tries arguing, sobering up quicker than he ever had in the past to try and explain. He hated that Peter… he hated not being his dad. He hated that the boy hated him. 

"Noo!!" Peter screeched again, slapping Tony _hard_. The intent hurt more than anything else...

Thankfully, Pepper steps in before Peter can push Tony even further over the edge. Before his instincts take over and he ends up lashing out to defend himself in his growing panic.

"Peter baby, stop it." She wraps her arms around the boy's waist, dragging him off Tony. He continues screaming, staring right at Tony as he does so. He doesn't break eye contact; pupils blown wide and the white around his eyes accentuated by bright red veins circling it, and Tony gulps. He's never felt so threatened in his life. 

"Maybe it's best you sleep downstairs Tony." Pepper says softly, casting him a pitying look as she lifts Peter into her arms. 

Tony stays on the floor, watching her leave. He lifts his hand slowly to rest on the stinging skin where Peter had struck him, and he watches. Peter’s stare doesn’t break, he watches him carefully over Pepper’s shoulder and his face down turns into a hateful scowl. 

He barely hears it. Heck, he probably didn't hear it at all, but the words were clear as day with the emphasized movements of his lips, seeing the exact movement of lips more times than he could count. Tony chokes on his tears, heart dropping into his stomach.

" _I hate you_."

He's never hated himself as much as he did in that moment. He’d gone and done it. He did the very thing he promised he'd never do, and that could never be forgiven. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry in advance to all of you who are feeling absolutely gutted after this... sorry. I can't promise it's all gonna be rainbows and unicorns next chapter cuz there's still quite a bit more to cover, but all will end well, I promise... Anyways, let me know what you thought! Call me out if I'm making things too unrealistic or if I'm inconsistent with characterization and plot, or if I'm pushing the dark side a bit too much... I'm kinda OCD and it drives me nuts sometimes thinking I might have inconsistencies or something. It doesn't hurt my feelings, honest! I love hearing your opinions, makes me try and better myself at writing and gives me some inspiration to get writing. 
> 
> Also, I'm changing the rating to mature... I feel that some things are getting kinda dark y'know, and I don't want to mislead anyone. So yeah... you probably noticed that at the start and if you didn't you probably don't care, but I just thought I'd address it lol. 
> 
> So, thanks for reading you guys. I love you dearly!! MWAH!!


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNINGS: Self-harm, attempted suicide.
> 
> It's kinda depressing, but not as bad as the past couple.

_Tony feels a familiar grogginess overtake his body as he tosses his head back and swallows the last bit of burning alcohol lingering at the bottom of the expensive bottle. He smacks his lips and they upturn at a lazy pace to show off a wide, teeth-baring, grin. He feels a numbness settle over him and the fog in his mind thickens. It’s a wonderful feeling of nothingness; drowning out old thoughts and subduing the constant badgering and screaming taking place inside his head. His eyes drooped and he sighed in contentment, relishing in the feeling that he might actually be able to sleep. But then he remembers something…_

_Pepper._

_Apparently, out of all the things his brain struggled to piece together, the one thing he’d been fighting to forget was still dangling mockingly in front of his face. He could hear her laughing; see her smile; smell her hair. She was beautiful and the feeling of her warm body pressed close to his terrified him because he had never craved for human touch as much as he did for it from that woman. But then he could hear her yelling; see her frown… he remembered the terrible fallout after Tony had taken things a step too far._

_He hadn’t known though… he didn’t-- he wasn’t used to that kind of thing: having a healthy, romantic, loving relationship with a woman. It was beyond his understanding and he had messed up. Probably too badly to ever be forgiven._

_He hissed in frustration and he barely had time to react before his body was responding to the anger. His hand tightens around the neck of the bottle and the glass splinters in his grip. He growls then swept his arm clumsily across his desk to send the now ruined glass bottle to the ground. The rest shattered on impact, raining the hardwood floor with tiny pieces of stained glass. The crash echoes in his ears and for some reason it sounds so similar to Pepper’s last words to him that have been thrumming recurrently in his head ( **“You’re a selfish bastard. Stay the hell away from me”** ).  Then, the nothingness haze is fading, and his mind is back at work. He blinks slowly and shakes his head to clear the odd jumble of thoughts that are making appearances at the forefront of his mind yet make no discernible sense to him. Then he growled and lifted his hand to examine it. He squints and cocks his head as he tries to process the little bit of blood trickling from his palm._

_It doesn’t hurt… or at least he doesn’t think it does._

_It doesn’t hurt nearly as much as Pepper’s rejection, however much he deserved it._

_The returning thought of Pepper works him up again and he stumbles to his feet, ignoring the sound of glass crushing beneath his heavy shoes. He just-- he needs to find her. He needs to talk to her and apologize. It’ll make him look like a clingy bastard, but he didn’t give a shit. He was so enthralled with the feeling he had when he was with Pepper and he didn’t want to lose it just because of his ignorance. He can hardly recall the details. The thoughts and images were all blurry, so he let the feeling in his gut guide him. He rarely felt guilt, so that had to mean it was something serious, right?_

_His gaze scans across the room to get a handle on himself… he had drank **a lot**. Pepper wouldn’t be so pleased with him. Though, he’s at least coherent enough to grab his father’s revolver (or maybe that’s just habit) and he trips his way to the door. For some reason he has a feeling he might need to use it._

_Not on Pepper…_

_Never on Pepper._

_Fury from Shield had been hounding him lately, which meant Phil Coulson was a frequent visitor to his Tower. And sadly, the man had seemed to have taken quite a liking for Pepper and the thought made him grimace. If he wasn’t coherent enough to land a solid punch, then at least he’d be able to shoot him. The man enraged him to no end; constantly ignoring his orders with a claim that he didn’t work for him. It just pissed Tony off, and it didn’t help that Pepper seemed genuinely entertained when speaking with him. He can’t get a handle on the thoughts; and for potentially the first time he wished he weren’t drunk._

_He makes it out his office with little problem, then continues down the halls to get to the elevator. He could feel the eyes watching him and usually he would care because Obie would yell at him for showing off a vulnerable side to his soldiers, but he was on a mission and nothing was about to distract him from it. Not even the threat of both Obie and Rhodey ganging up on him for being irresponsible._

_It was honestly kinda funny how everyone veered out of his path though. He’s sure if he wasn’t so distracted by the craziness brewing and mixing with copious amounts of alcohol, he would have laughed at the butched men scampering away from him. He was known to be a raging drunk; it wasn’t a secret. He was like his father in more ways than one and he wasn’t all that afraid to admit it. His father, despite some of the terrible things he’d done to him as a young boy, was a respectable man and he knew how to run game. A good game. And ever since Tony was a child, he aspired to live up to his father’s abilities; make him proud for once._

_“Pepper,” Tony croaks, falling against the elevator wall. The walk across the floor seemed to tire his body out and his legs nearly collapsed beneath him. The haziness and numbness in his limbs were definitely making a reappearance. The doors close and Tony rubs his forehead. He can’t seem to grasp on any string of self-control. It was such an odd feeling, yet so liberating. It was a freedom to do as he pleased without worry of regret or guilt… until the next night after the hangover passed._

_“You would like me to take you to Ms. Potts, sir?” JARVIS questions once the elevator kicks into movement. Tony panics for a brief moment, head snapping every which way to figure out why in the world the ground was moving, but he figured it out… he was just flying. Nothing new._

_“Yeah,” he slurred, pushing down on a heavy burp. It hurt his chest, but he rubbed his eyes and waited for the pressure to leave._

_“Sir, may I suggest rethinking that decision. You are heavily intoxicated, and you have recently experienced a negative exchange with Ms. Potts. This may not be a wise course of action. You will regret doing any lasting harm to her in the future.”_

_“Shat’p,” Tony slurs, trying his best to glare at wherever the camera was… he just couldn’t remember where it was. So, he settled for glaring at the doors. “Not g’nna hurt her. Just need ta talk.” He nodded his head solemnly, and his next action may have been controversial to his words, but he swears it wasn’t. He fumbled a bit, but he eventually pressed down on the hammer of his revolver with a telltale click. He stretched his jaw and shook his head once more… he just needed to talk to Pepper. About what? He wasn’t so sure anymore, but he just needed to talk..._

_The doors opened for him and he stepped out, tossing his head around to examine the mostly empty floor JARVIS had led him to._

_“Pepper?!” He shouted. His voice sounding rough and gravelly, but he didn’t care._

_He heard some panicked shuffling somewhere down the hall and his mind seemed to work faster than his feet and he caught himself right before he face planted into the floor. He straightened back up and headed for the noise in hopes of finding Pepper._

_Well, he found her alright, but she wasn’t alone and for some reason he didn’t reel surprised at the discovery._

_He paused at the end of the hall and stared. His eyebrows furrowed together, and he found himself growing angry, or at least something akin to anger. It was an odd feeling._

_“Wha’d I tell ya ‘bout bein’ ‘round my girl Coulson?” He slurred angrily, marching towards the shorter man without a single sway or shuffle to his step. His mind was abnormally clear, and the numbness faded into a light pulsing in his limbs. He pinpoints several specific memories of Coulson negotiating Pepper’s release… the man wanted to take Pepper away from him._

_Pepper stood from her chair, looking infuriated as she held her glass of wine delicately in her hand. “I am not **your** girl Tony Stark! We have been over this you entitled bastard. You don’t own me. We had sex twice, that is it. Get over yourself. I can speak to whoever I want.”_

_Tony grabbed her. He didn’t register her surprised yelp as he tugged her closer, further away from this stupid, stupid man he had grown to detest. He knew Pepper wasn’t attracted to him… she’d told him so. She was… she had just been Pepper; a woman obsessed with her work, searching for a next mark. That didn’t make the boiling pool in his stomach settle though._

_“Stark,” Coulson began, standing from his seat opposite the one Pepper had been sitting with an empty glass in his hand. “Pepper’s made it quite clear she’s not interested-”_

_“Shut’p!” Tony screamed, lifting his revolver to point it squarely at the man’s chest. He was always a perfect shot… even when he was drunk._

_“Let go of me,” Pepper struggled against his hold and Tony only found himself growing sad at the thought that she was so desperate to get away from him. What if she really did decide to go work for Coulson and Fury instead of him? They’ve been trying to poach her ever since Coulson’s first serious altercation with him… he just-- he didn’t think he could handle having Pepper taken away from him._

_“Pepper,” he responded sadly, glancing down at her with a sad, vulnerable frown and wide eyes. “‘M sorry ‘bout what I did. I’ll do better.”_

_Pepper’s only response was a glare._

_“You need to stop acting like a little boy Anthony. Not everything in the world belongs to you. I told you “no”, so stop acting like a possessive, clingy, control freak.” Tony’s hold on her loosens at her harsh words and he feels hurt fester in his chest. He knew why she denied him; she had told him straight to his face. She was never one to hold things back. She said it how she saw it and that’s one of the things he loved about her._

_God, he just wanted to kiss her so bad._

_“Just needed to keep you safe,” Tony argued fruitlessly, staring at her with pleading eyes. He hopes maybe she’d reconsider because he loves her for some reason and he’d never loved someone before, and he doubts he’d ever love anyone else. But perhaps that was part of her ploy. If it was, she was damn sure good at her job._

_“She needed to be kept safe from you,” Coulson spoke up, stepping towards the pair with his hand outstretched towards Pepper._

_Tony stares at him, blank eyes devoid of any emotion, colored over with the drunken haze still present in his consciousness. His body screams with an instinctive drive to **Protect! Protect! Protect!** “You’re toein’ a real thin line there Coulson. Keep ya hands off ‘er.” He won’t let Coulson take her away from him. Not now; not ever. She wouldn’t be safe with them..._

_Coulson ignores the warning and steps closer, grabbing ahold of Pepper’s elbow gently. “Fury’s willing to pay you whatever she owes. I’ll take her off your hands-”_

_Coulson wasn’t even able to finish his sentence before three loud shots rang out and he dropped like a limp rag doll. Tony watched him fall with only a curious tilt of his head, elbow tucked into his side with his revolver pointed directly where the man once stood. He can vaguely hear Pepper’s frantic screams over the familiar ring resonating after the loud fire. She tears away from him and drops next to Coulson, three red blotches already forming on his chest._

_Tony blinks away the haziness and hiccups slightly, looking down at the gun in his hand with a squint. The screaming is gone; threat neutralized. She was safe… Then, he clears his throat and hauls Pepper to her feet by her arm._

_“JARVIS. Get Obie to send someone up to clean this mess.”_

_Pepper’s screaming at him, but he doesn’t really care. She may not understand then, but it was necessary. At least, that’s what his drunken mind told him._

* * *

Tony presses his fingers against the side of his skull, slowly massaging his temple in hopes it would alleviate the painful pressure behind his eyes. He remembers that day… wasn’t one of his most shining moments he’d admit.

He groans slowly, eyes closing as he patiently waits for the painkillers to kick in and get rid of this damn hangover. He remembers he used to love getting drunk; the feeling of nothing at all was so alleviating that he had become addicted to it. So, after that particular day, when he had promised Pepper to never drink himself to that point around her again, he was so convinced he’d miss it terribly. He was wrong… he did not miss it one bit.

He did not miss the violent vomiting binges into a dirty trash can, passing out in random, uncomfortable places only to be sore for the rest of the week, the terrible migraines… and he most definitely didn’t miss Pepper hating him.

He felt terrible.

He opened his eyes slowly and stared down at the wooden top of his desk. He didn’t know why he had driven himself to that point… he had known it wouldn’t end well. He had just wanted the screaming to go away. He didn’t want to have to think anymore. Because if he didn’t think then he wouldn’t have to remember their eyes. The look on Harley’s face tore into him. The thought of what he had ruined broke him; and the all-encompassing guilt shattered him until he cried to the point he couldn’t remember why. Then, he had gone to find Pepper in search of reassurance and comfort that she always provided him so he wouldn’t end up doing something to himself that would leave her alone and sad. But he had promised he wouldn’t do it again and now he was paying for it… Pepper hated him; and Peter too.

He had promised Pepper. He promised her never to do it again. Not after the horror story of what he had almost done to her that night. He couldn’t remember anything after watching Coulson fall to the ground, but Rhodey filled him in on the rest of the events that had transpired later that night. It hadn’t been pretty. Tony wouldn’t have blamed Pepper if she never forgave him… but she did because she was a good person like that. 

Tony smiled brokenly. He remembered the amount of groveling and apologizing it took for Pepper to finally speak to him again. Then, eventually she forgave him after he proved he was trying to change after months of abstinence. He had sworn to her that he would never hurt her; that he would do everything he could to keep her safe and happy… She had smiled at him as if she were the one to blame and she gave him a hug...

His smile falls into a clenched frown, eyebrows furrowing angrily at his broken promise. He breathed deeply and reached for the blade resting precariously on a pile of books. He stared at it for a moment before moving swiftly and pressing the point to the tip of his index finger. He didn’t even flinch as he dragged the blade down the length of his finger, tracing the faded scar down to the center of his palm. He watched the blood pour from the familiar line he’d cut into his hand. He repeated the procedure with his next finger… then the rest. And soon he found himself staring at his hand, covered in blood, the thick crimson rivulets gathering into a large pool in the center of his palm then spilling over the sides and dripping onto his desk. He flexed his fingers, watching in sick fascination as the blood poured out even quicker. He remembered when he used to do this years ago; something to ground him. He remembered when his father would do this to him as a child; something to teach him to be strong. After every instance, he’d lose that many more nerves, which drove him to cut deeper next time around so he might be able to feel the sting. Through the years he cut deeper and deeper until he barely had any feeling left in the palms of his hands or the tips of his fingers anymore…

The only thing he hated about that was not being able to easily feel Pepper’s soft hand when it was being held in his. The callouses and scars made sure of that… He wondered how the scars hadn’t disgusted her back when they were ugly, red, and prominent. Now, they were barely a reminder of what once was. Though, after today they would be back… but he doesn’t care because it’s not like Pepper would be holding his hand anytime soon.

He still held the blade loosely in his hand, then lowered it slowly. He rested the point in the pool of blood at the center of his hand and he thought deeply about last night. It wouldn’t take all that much effort to just slice downwards about five more inches. It wouldn’t be that hard. It’d just be one movement. It would help him feel that nothingness he oh so craved. He could escape everything around him forever. He’d never have to worry about the aftermath-- the terrible vomiting and splintering migraines. Pepper wouldn’t miss him, nor Peter or Harley. So… there was really nothing holding him back anymore.

Pepper would be well off without him. He had a safe house just for instances like this-- in a case that he may not return home. She would be able to run away with Peter, Harley, and Morgan. A beautiful log cabin by a lake. He knew she’d love it. And Rhodey would take good care of her until Harley’s old enough to shoulder the responsibility. Of course, she’d be perfectly capable without a man because for crying out loud it’s Pepper! … it’s just reassuring to know she’d have someone to lean on if she happened to need help.

He smiled softly and pictured her bustling around the large home with Harley playing with Morgan and Peter helping her with dinner. It was a beautiful sight… and Tony knew it looked much better than it would have if he were in the picture disrupting the familial atmosphere. They would get along just fine without him. They’d be okay...

He pressed down on the knife…

“Sir, please don’t cause any more harm to your person.” JARVIS voiced, finally overriding his creator’s earlier harsh command to “mute”.

Tony growled, but he didn’t move the blade. “Some things you just can’t understand JARVIS. This is for the best. Mute.”

“Sir,” JARVIS voice sounds firm, “if you do not put down the knife, I will have no choice but to call for Sir Rhodes.”

“Do not call Rhodes. Or anyone. That’s an order.”

“I apologize sir, but that order has been overridden by several protocol.” JARVIS answered coolly.

Tony grit his teeth in defiance, knife pressing so hard into his hand he could finally feel the sharp sting. “What protocols?”

“The protocols meant to protect Mrs. Stark, Mr. Rhodes, Mr. Hogan and most recently Master Harley and Master Peter.”

Tony rolled his eyes, but he still didn’t put the knife down. “And how would my killing myself harm any of them.”

 “It would cause them extreme emotional distress, sir. Including but not limited to guilt, depression, anxiety, abandonment issues, and in some cases, people have been driven to insanity and severe mental health issues.”

Tony snorted in exasperation. His head was pounding too hard, his heart hurt too bad and he just wanted it all to go away. He knew nobody would miss him. They would only benefit from his absence. And even if JARVIS happened to be right… he was a selfish bastard as so many people had pointed out time and time again… he doubts this would come as a surprise to some.

He dropped his head to look back down at the blade and his red palm. He adjusted his hold on the knife’s handle and angled his wrist to easily slice further down. But before he could break more skin, he heard loud footsteps outside his office. He supposed JARVIS had already called someone… and they were running. That meant it had to be Rhodey. Only Rhodes would be so dramatic about him trying to kill himself. He found his eyes rolling in exasperation at the man’s annoying mother-henning. Can’t a man just commit suicide in peace?

Rhodey burst into the room, out of breath and eyes wild. He stared at Tony in horror, eyes flickering down to where Tony still held the knife precariously over his already lacerated palm. 

“Tony,” he spoke slowly, “put the knife down buddy.”

Tony only looked at him, unamused by the dramatics of it all. 

“Just leave platypus. It’ll be fine. I’ll write my final will and testament and everythin’ before I officially pass out. You can probably negotiate with Pep for half the big fat check that’ll be comin’ in the mail. But I don’t know… she might just settle on retiring and give you the company.” He shrugged his shoulder with a sigh like it was no big deal/

Rhodey shook his head, stepping further into the room. He looks on the verge of tears. “Please don’t Tony.”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

Rhodey only glared at him…

There was a long silence as the two of them stared at each other, until Rhodey finally seemed to get an idea and he smiled.

“Because if you killed yourself right now, you wouldn’t have the chance to kill Parker. The honor would fall to me, and I doubt you’d want that.”

Tony perked up a bit at that. He sniffed vaguely and slowly pulled the knife away from his hand. The man definitely knew how to appeal to him. “I suppose you’re right. Gotta take care of business before I decide to off myself, right?” He huffed a laugh at that and stood from his chair.

Rhodey visibly sighed in relief. “Yeah, exactly. You also gotta tell me what to do with the kid. I’m not… I wasn’t sure how you wanted it handled exactly.”

Tony’s back was to him as he pulled on his jacket, but Rhodey could still see him stiffen at the mention of Harley.

“I was wrong ‘bout him. There’s no way it was him. I was just… I was just a little overwhelmed and I jumped to conclusions a bit too quickly.”

Rhodey smiled slightly. “Pepper’ll be happy to hear that.”

Tony nodded with pursed lips. He wiped the blood from his hand with several wipes leaving the blood-soaked rags on his desk. “I’m sure she will.”

Then with those last few words, Tony marched across the room and threw open the door. He left to go finish what needed to be done. That way he could finally feel accomplished with life as he drifted off into the heavy space of nothingness.

* * *

Harley lay curled up on his cot. Back to the door and arms wrapped tightly around his torso as he stared ahead with watery eyes. He didn’t know what to expect. He didn’t know what was going to happen to him. All he knew was Tony was mad at him and the door to his was locked. He was trapped, awaiting the wrath of a famously powerful mob boss who’d just been exposed on national television. This wouldn’t be ending so well for him, he’s sure.

Allen and Happy had easily caught up to him, being uncharacteristically sympathetic as they dragged him downstairs and locked him up in his room so he wouldn’t be able to run away again. He was fairly sure there were a couple guards stationed outside the door as well. He could hear their heavy footsteps periodically along with the faint mumblings of a brief discussion when they swapped shifts.

He shivered in anticipation. He hadn’t slept a wink and he was too scared to ask for the time. He couldn’t be sure if the night had already passed or if it had only been a couple hours. He kept the lights off, hoping he may be able to drift off at some point, but all that did was make the situation all the more terrifying and depressing. He just-- he didn’t know how much longer he could lay here without breaking down.

Allen had only told him they were waiting for further instruction from Tony… nothing else.

So, he waited and wallowed in his own misery. He thought of better times and dreamt of everything just being one ugly nightmare. He smiled stupidly as he closed his eyes and pictured waking up on the couch to the sound of Peter and Pepper laughing, and the smell of pancakes. He imagined the couch dipping and looking up to see Tony smiling down at him with that teasing grin of his. He looked much happier than he’d ever seen him… and Harley found himself being drawn towards the man.

_“Ya sleep good kiddo?”_

He could imagine himself nodding and rubbing his eyes. He could hear Peter’s enthusiastic shout of “ _Daddy we makin’ panca’es!”_ too and he felt a warmth bloom in his chest, especially when he saw the bright happiness on Tony’s face because all was forgiven, and maybe they _could_ be a normal family. He was their dad, Pepper was their mom, and all was right with the world.

Harley thought it might be nice to one day call someone Dad like Peter was able to. He’d never called someone Dad before. It felt like such a foreign word, but yet such an important one. And for a while there he was sure Tony would be the best candidate for the title. He was sure that maybe one day he’d be brave enough to whisper it to him after a movie or after he tucked him into bed (after that first night he wasn’t too sure if that was only a onetime thing or what… he sure hoped it wasn’t). A simple “goodnight Dad” would have filled him with a giddy warmth and he could almost picture Tony’s smile: the same smile reserved for when Peter said the same thing. Boy, does he wish he had been brave enough. Maybe then Tony would have been quicker to forgive him. Maybe then it wouldn’t have even crossed the man’s mind that he might betray them because Harley was his son and he was Harley’s dad.

 _“That’s good,”_ imaginary Tony said, reaching up to ruffle his hair.

Harley could feel himself leaning into it and he fought hard enough to imagine it that he could practically feel the warm hand cupped atop his head. Then a thought hit him, and he looked up at the man formed in his imagination.

It’d just be one word, and he wouldn’t even have to say it out loud. He could risk it in his own mind, right? Nobody would hear him. He could just try it out one time… see what happens. See how he feels. He should do it before it’s been too long to remember what hugs and love felt like.

So, Harley breathed deeply and squeezed his eyes shut even harder before leaning into imaginary Tony’s body, imagining the man’s strong arms wrapping around him in a warm hug. _“G’mornin’ Dad,”_ he imagined himself whispering into the man’s shirt.

He felt the chuckle rumble through his dad’s chest, and he hummed in contentment. “Good morning to you too, Pup. You’re mighty cuddly this mornin’.” The pet name made his heart soar and his grin widen. He’s not even sure if that’s something Tony would ever even consider calling him, but Peter’s already coined all the good ones… maybe if he were Tony’s kid too he’d get a special nickname that belongs just to him… something not meant to be degrading and teasing. Something that wasn’t Sprout. Something that wasn’t ordinary and without meaning. Something that wasn’t Kid or Kiddo. He kinda liked it. Pup. It sounded nice. Bubba and Pup. He wondered what Morgan’s might be.

He relished in the imaginary comfort for as long as he could. He never broke away from his imaginary dad and his imaginary dad never broke away from him, simply carding his fingers through his hair like Pepper would do.

It was a nice escape from reality and he’s sure that if he’s let to survive this wouldn’t be the last time he imagined being a part of the Stark Family. Not the crime family… but a real Stark. As in Tony Stark and Pepper Stark’s son. As in probably soon to be Peter Stark’s brother, and of course the brother for his soon to arrive baby sister, Morgan. It’s an innocent fantasy that’ll help him get through life… he just… he hates thinking Tony’s angry at him. He hates thinking he disappointed his could have been dad.

His trance is broken when he hears a pair of approaching footsteps and loud whispers.

“Is the kid asleep?” The muffled voice asked. Harley couldn’t be sure if it were Rhodey or Happy. All he knew was the tone was familiar… and it sounded worried.

“I don’t know. We haven’t checked on him since yesterday. He was freaking out if we got anywhere near him. Didn’t want to make it worse than it already was.” 

That was Happy… and Harley cringed at the reminder of how he had behaved the night before. He swears he’d never seen Happy look so remorseful. He was just-- he had been freaked. Everything happening at once. It was just overwhelming, and the events were far too familiar to past traumas than he would have liked.

“Tony’s freaked,” the voice he now assumed must be Rhodey’s. “JARVIS called me just before he was ‘bout to slice his wrist open.”

“What?” Happy whispered vehemently…

Harley perked up in worry. _Tony had tried to off himself?_ Why would he do that? Was it-- was it his fault. Was the belief that he had betrayed him drove him mad to the verge of killing himself. Did he almost make his imaginary father commit suicide?

Rhodey sighed shakily. “Yeah, I know… Pepper… she’s pissed. Pete too. He-he went up there drunk last night. Freaked them both out and… and I think… it’s gettin’ to be a lot for him. He-he’s convinced everyone hates him now, and I don’t know how to fix it with something other than time, and I don’t know how much of that he has before he tries it again.”

“Is he okay now though?” Harley hoped he was. He couldn’t imagine Peter having to lose another father, or Pepper losing her husband… all because of him and being stupid enough to let himself get attached to people again and letting them get attached to him in return.

“Yeah, he’s off to do God knows what to Parker. I-I sent Wilson with him to keep an eye on him… he ‘pparently used to be a therapist after his air force career went downhill… we could honestly use some of that ‘round here, so it was nice to hear.”

“Good,” Happy sighed, “goodness, it would kill both the kids if he decided to do something like that. Not to mention Pepper. She’d never forgive herself…” both men seem to trail off after that and Harley found himself straining to listen for more in case they had lowered their voices even further. “He didn’t happen to say what to do with the kid, did he?”

Harley’s breath caught in his throat… he couldn’t risk the sound of his own breathing to keep him from hearing Rhodes’ answer. Whatever he was about to say would seal his fate.

“Yeah, he did…” Rhodey didn’t seem all that upset… “he’s… he’s mad at himself for calling out the kid like that, y’know. He told me it was all heat of the moment; doesn’t believe a word he had said. It just… it just made too much sense to him for it to not be true. He doesn’t want the kid hurt at all. I’ll probably bring the kid up to see Pep and Pete after I talk to him.” Harley gasped in relief, a wide grin spreading across his face. Tony believed him! It’s gonna be okay. “They’re both messed up ‘bout all this. Talked to Pep this morning about it… but I just… I need to make sure. Tony’s judgement is compromised and I gotta make sure he’s right before I let that kid anywhere near them. What he said about doing to his mother… it doesn’t sound all that wise to let him around Pep unsupervised, y’know.”

“Yeah, but he’s a good kid. Go talk to him.”

Harley’s excitement coursed through his entire body. He found himself growing giddy at the idea of being able to see Pepper and Peter again. His life wasn’t completely ruined… yet. The thought made him pause. Just because he was proven to be no danger this time didn’t mean he wasn’t a danger to them. He couldn’t-- he couldn’t risk them getting hurt because of him. He wouldn’t be able to handle it… Not if he let another mother and sibling get hurt at his hands.

The door opened with a loud creak and it breaks him from his debating thoughts. He sits up straighter and stares as Rhodey slowly makes his way into the room. Harley gulps and Rhodey takes a seat in the chair as the door slams shut behind him. The light flickers on above them.

“Sir,” Harley greets stiffly. “I um… I heard ya talkin’ to Happy. Is um… Is To-Boss alright?”  
Rhodey sighs. “He’s… he’s hangin’ in there, don’t worry. Once this mess is all cleared up, things’ll go back to normal and he’ll be good as new.”

“Oh, okay,” Harley nods, gaze dropping to his hands resting in his lap. “Ya also said you got questions for me. I’ll tell you anything you want to know.” He wanted to make sure Tony knew it wasn’t him who had done this. He wanted Pepper to know too. He wanted them to know that he’d never do something like this to people he viewed as family.

“Yeah…” Rhodey trailed off, almost as if he were hesitant to continue. “I just want you to tell me the details of what happened with your mother. That’s it…”

Harley’s jaw tightened. He didn’t want to. But he’d do it.

He nodded. “Okay.”

Harley starts out strong. Steeling his face into a neutrally unperturbed expression as he recounts the events leading up to his mother’s death. Memories wash over him as he speaks; memories that are so contrast from the ones he’d been imagining earlier, and he fights desperately to keep the shake out of his voice. He didn’t want to cry in front of Rhodey. He _wouldn’t_ cry in front of Rhodey… he’d done enough crying lately as is.

“He um… he had dinner with us and-and I thought he might leave after that y’know… Thought he might change his mind after he had time to cool down…” Harley looked away from Rhodey’s face and stared at the wall. “He grabbed my sister and put a gun to her head.” He swallowed thickly recalling his sister’s terrified scream and his mother’s frantic shouts begging Richard to let her go… “I-I-I didn’t know what to do…”

_Richard adjusts his hold of the squirming girl, scowling in distaste. He hated doing these things himself, but he… gosh he just needed the Keeners to feel pain._

_Harley stared at him with wide eyes and chest heaving with heavy breaths. He held out a hand to the man in a placating way and that just pissed the man off more._

_Richard glared. “I want you to go get your gun kid,” he instructed Harley, tightening his hold on the girl enough for her to scream out even louder in terror. Harley gulped and remained rooted to the spot, unsure if it would be safe to leave his family in the room alone with the insane man. Richard didn’t seem to like his hesitance very much. “Go get your gun or I blast her brains across the kitchen table.” His sister wailed, clawing at the man’s jacket covered arm in a feeble attempt to escape._

_“Richard, we don’t have a gun in this house. Please, please just let her go. Whatever my husband did… I-I’m sorry…”_

_“Too late for that,” Richard spat. And he turned back to Harley looking angry and Harley quickly scampered off to find the gun he kept beneath his mattress. He returned to find the situation unchanged and he felt his insides trembling in fear._

_Richard didn’t break his eyes away from him as he crept back into the room. He nodded at Harley’s mother insistently._

_“Shoot her.”_

_“W-what?!” Harley cried, looking completely aghast by the instruction._

_“I said shoot her. In the head… you’ll wanna make it quick and painless for her, so don’t miss.” Richard smiled darkly._

_Harley shook his head wildly. “No. I’m not going to shoot my mother!”_

_Richard’s blank expression doesn’t break. “You’re either going to shoot her now or watch me shoot your sister then your mother. I won’t be as merciful with my aim. I’ve never been an exceptionally good shot.”_

_Harley doesn’t move for a solid five minutes. He **knows** that’s not true._

_He runs several potential courses of action through his head like he’d been trained. Is there potential for both to survive? He had a gun in his hand, and he was a pretty good shot too… maybe he could work something out..._

_“Harley… baby,” his mother speaks tentatively. His head snaps to look at her as she slowly sits down in a dining chair. “It’s okay baby.” Harley shakes his head frantically. “It’s okay…”_

_“Harley no!” His sister cries. He turns to look at her trapped between the man’s chest and his gun. He finds himself growing sick at the thought that he’s not capable enough to protect them both._

_“Harley,” his mother’s voice was stern. “Look at me.”_

_He does even though he doesn’t want to. He stares at her, ignoring his sister’s screams._

_“Shoot her Keener. You’re running out of time.”_

_He stares at his mom. He hates that he’s not crying. He should be crying, right? He should be sobbing and bawling like his sister… he-he had to kill his mother to save his sister. He should be crying! “Harley, it’s okay. Hurry up now Honey. It’s going to be okay.”_

_He hates that she’s so resigned to her fate. She’s putting up no fight as if she had been preparing for this very occurrence for the entirety of her short-lived existence._

_“Ma, I can’t,” Harley croaks. “I can’t just…”_

_“Harley,” her gaze was stern as she locked eyes with him, chin down, looking at him through heavy eyelashes. “Keep your sister safe, okay? If it’s me over her; choose me. It’s either just me or both of us honey. Use that big brain of yours. We’re running out of time.”_

_“Ma, please,” he begged quietly, but his hand with the pistol lifted anyways. “Please don’t make me do this.”_

_“It’s going to okay Honey… and I don’t want you to blame yourself ever for this, okay?”_

_“But-but it’s my fault,” he whispers through thick spit. “He’s here cuz I messed up. I-I’m so sorry… I didn’t mean to turn out like-like **him**.” He didn’t say the word, but she seemed to know what he meant._

_“You’re nothing like him, baby,” his mother smiles. His sister screams. Richard threatens to shoot once more.... And Harley cries. “You’re so much better than him. You’ll do amazing things, I believe that. The world is yours for the taking baby. Use it wisely.”_

_She closes her eyes and Harley hesitates._

_“Close your eyes baby,” she whispers. He can still hear her though. “Don’t watch.”_

_He does as she says. He closes his eyes… and he doesn’t even have a moment to rethink. He pulls the trigger, opens his eyes, and just like that his entire world is torn apart and he’s sure he’d never be able to put it back together._

Harley stops, tears stinging his eyes. He still hadn’t looked at Rhodey yet, unsure how the man would react to his merciless shot. He’d shot his mother… he killed her.

Rhodes’ next words were soft and careful. “Where’s your sister?”

Harley forced in a deep breath through his open mouth and he blinked back tears. “She-- um… Richard Parker’s not good at keeping his word…”

The memory replays in slow motion. Richard walking his sister to the seat beside his mother. She was screaming and sobbing, but… he couldn’t hear her. He couldn’t-- he couldn’t move. He was-- he couldn’t breathe after it had happened, and he barely had time to react as Richard forced her into the seat and put a bullet between her eyes just as Harley had done to his mother. And the worst part was that he could have stopped it. He had the gun in his hand and he just stood there helplessly… and watched his sister be murdered. It was-- it was something terrible that he’d been conditioned to believe was his fault… Richard Parker was a manipulative freak and he hated the man for making him believe it was his own fault for killing his mother. He hated that the man was somehow capable of brainwashing him into remaining loyal. He hated that he hadn’t hated the man as much as he hated him now.

“I um-- I coulda shot him, but I…” he didn’t really know what he was planning to say, and he was cut off by a harsh sob… he’d… he’d never said the words out loud before. “I didn’t shoot him. I just… I just watched as he killed her. I--” his mouth opened; breath pushed from his lungs as he gasped through the next sob. “I… he just left like he’d finished an errand. I-- he left the gun on the table and-and told me how to cover it up y’know… I-I made eggs.” He choked and keeled forward, bending at the waist to press his forehead into his knees. He felt a heavy hand land on his back and the mattress dip beneath him. “I didn’ know how to make nothin’ else… I-I was s’pposed to make it look like-like a surprise while they were eatin’ dinner an-and then I ran.” Rhodey didn’t move his hand as Harley sobbed into his knees. “I’m sorry! I didn’ wanna kill her! I was jus’ tryin’ to save my li’l sister.”

“You did your best kiddo,” Rhodey whispered softly, scooting closer so their bodies were pressed closer together. “You can’t blame yourself for that. Tony’d be proud you were able to stay this strong for so long. You don’t have to carry this weight by yourself anymore. We’ll make it right. I promise.”

Harley’s head turns to the side and he stares at Rhodey. “I-I wanna watch him die Rhodey. So bad.”

“I’m sure you do,” Rhodey smiled encouragingly at him, ruffling his hair lightly. “Now, why don’t I take you up to see Pepper and Pete. I bet their dying to see you’re okay. And I’m sure Pep will watch movies with you all day.”

Harley smiled at the thought of curling up on the couch with Pepper and Peter like he used to do with his mom and sister. Pepper gives good hugs; amazing hugs. She was warm and smelled like soapy brown sugar, and Peter was loud and joyful… being with them always made him feel alive… but he couldn’t.

“I can’t. Not right now…” he hoped Rhodey would understand. Thankfully, the man did, and he only smiled.

“Okay, I understand. Now, do you wanna be alone or do you want me to stay.” Harley gulped… if it had been Tony… he might have asked him to stay. Maybe… but he was too used to dealing with this himself; he couldn’t just up and change now.

“Alone, please.”

Rhodey nodded. “Alright then. If you need anything at all just tell JARVIS. I’m sorry that we kept you locked in here all night kiddo; we just needed to be cautious until Tony got out of his funk and told us what was going on… he feels terrible for what he did by the way.”

Harley only nods.

Rhodey pulls away and stands from the bed. “Alright. You can get up and leave whenever you feel like it. I’m sure you might be hungry too. Don’t wallow by yourself too much. It’s not healthy.”

“Okay Rhodey,” he smiled weakly. “I’ll try.”

“That’s all I ask, kid.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know Peter isn't really in this chapter that much, but I kinda had to cut the planned chapter in half. I'm hoping to include him much more next chapter (but for the next couple chapters it's going to be mainly Tony and Harley POVs (you'll see what I mean soon)). Also, after this chapter, things should start looking up again, so at least that's something to look forward to, right?
> 
> And lastly... I hate to do this to y'all again, but works sending me out to DC for a while and I don't know how much time I'm gonna have to work on chapters. So... it may be a few weeks till I can update (at least I didn't leave it on a bad cliffhanger, right? lol). This coming Friday I'll be in DC, then the next week I'll be in Missouri. Gosh, I'm uber busy ugh. Anyways, don't lose hope is basically what I'm saying. I have everything planned out... and who knows, I might be able to get most of it done with my phone... we'll see.
> 
> Anyways, I love you guys dearly. Thanks so much for reading. It makes me so happy to read all your comments and I hope to continue hearing from you guys, it makes me smile so big! Thank you! XOXOXOXOXOXO


	22. Chapter 22

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait guys! Gosh life is so chaotic especially around the holidays.

_Peter didn't like yelling. It always made him feel so scared._

_He burrowed beneath the covers and clamped his hands tightly over his ears in hopes it may be able to drown out the loud shouts of his mother and father’s bickering down the hall. He didn’t like it. He didn’t like it when his Mama and Daddy yelled at each other so loud. His Mama always got hurt after and she’d cry for a long, long time in her room. He didn’t like it when his Mama cried. It made him feel sad._

_Yet, despite his attempts to drown the deafening hollers, his father’s loud words could be plainly heard after the sound of a particularly loud slam._

_“WHAT DA HELL MARY?!”_

_Peter didn’t know what was going on. All he knew was that he wanted his Mama. He wanted her to come up and tuck him in like she promised him she would do an hour ago. He wanted her to come and read him his bedtime story and sing him a song like she always did before bedtime._

_“WHAT WAS I SUPPOSED TO DO RICHARD?! It wasn’t like you were around any!” His Mama hollered back…_

_Peter didn’t understand the words too well. He was still learning how to talk. He was progressing slowly. His Daddy didn’t seem to like it very much, though, and Peter didn’t know how he was supposed to fix it. He didn’t like it when his Daddy would call him a retard. He didn’t know what it meant, but if the way his Mama would react was anything to go off of, then it couldn’t have meant anything good. Peter didn’t like being a retard very much. Not if it meant something so bad and made his daddy so mad._

_“WELL YOU COULDA KILLT IT INSTEAD OF BIRTHING THE SMIMY BASTARD’S CHILD!”_

_“RICHARD! How could you say that?”_

_Peter whined loudly, hugging his knees even closer to his chest. He knew what kill meant… he didn’t like that word very much. Mama explained it to him one time. It was when a person made another person dead. Then she told him that bein’ dead, or killt, was like sleeping, but the person just wasn’t allowed to wake up. That made Peter sad because that meant the person wasn’t allowed to play anymore. They couldn’t pet kitties. They couldn’t build with cool blocks. And they couldn’t give hugs anymore. That was really, really sad. Peter didn’t know what he’d do if he wasn’t allowed to do those things anymore._

_“I’M GONNA KILL ‘IM!”_

_Peter flinched and cried harder. His Daddy was going to kill someone. He didn’t like that. He didn’t like that a person wouldn’t be able to hug and smile and laugh anymore because of his Daddy..._

_“He’s long gone Richard. He left his family years ago. No one knows where he is.”_

_Peter wasn’t sure what they were talking about. It wasn’t like he cared either… he just wanted his Mama’s hugs to make him feel better and so they might stop yelling so loud._

_Eventually, enough was enough and Peter kicked the blankets off his bed, and he bolted from his room, tears streaming down his cheeks and arms outstretched in anticipation to be cuddled by his Mama. He just wanted the yelling to stop. It was too, too loud._

_He rounded the corner of the hallway and he slowed slightly as he kneaded the heels of his palms into his eyes to wipe away the stinging tears. His onesie scratched at his already irritated skin and his covered feet felt slippery against the hardwood floor. He held his Teddy in the hand wiping away tears and he stopped to brace his other hand against the wall as his chest heaved with his stuttering sobs, bottom lip being pulled into his mouth with every harsh intake of breath._

_A low, threatening whisper from the living room grabbed his attention though and he sniffed pitifully as he looked towards the dimly lit room barely seen around the corner. He saw his daddy and his mommy. His daddy looked mad._

_“I swear I’ gonna kill ya for this,” his father slurred. “You broke ma heart Mary. Can’t believe you’d have the balls to do this.”_

_Peter watched worriedly as his father stepped closer to his Mama. His Mama stumbled back a step in response. Peter thinks she looked scared and he felt his own body lurch forward as if he were ready to run and catch her if she fell. His advance stopped as she spoke, though, and he watched on with wide eyes._

_“Richard stop,” she whispered with a waver in her voice, hand outstretched in a poor attempt to halt the man’s advance on her. “You’re drunk. It was a mistake. I’m sorry.”_

_“Too late fur that.”_

_Peter watched with wide, teary eyes as his father pushed his mother to the floor. He gasped. His feet moved him closer and he was ready to run to help his Mama, but he froze when he saw what lay discarded on the coffee table. It was one of his Daddy’s smelly bottles. That was why his Daddy was talking so weird. That’s why Daddy was so mad._

_He stared at his father’s hunched over, teetering form as he loomed over his mama. Peter knew that word. Mama told him it to explain why Daddy got so mean sometimes._

_He was **drunk**._

_Peter whined softly, hand lifting to his mouth. Mama was in trouble! His daddy had been drinking again. Daddy wasn’t so nice when he drank from his smelly bottles. He was always so mean to Peter when Peter didn’t mean to be bad. He’d get so, so, so many spankings when his daddy’d see him after he’d drunken from the smelly bottles._

_But he still needed to help Mama! He couldn’t let Daddy hurt Mama! Maybe if Daddy hurt him instead, he would forget about hurting his mama and about being mad at her._

_Peter was just a bit too late though. One blurred moment later and the next thing he knew, Daddy was pulling out something small and shiny from behind his back and then there was a really, really loud bang that made Peter’s ears hurt so bad. His hands had clamped over his sensitive ears and his eyes squeezed together tightly as tears spilled down his cheeks. He was so scared. The noise was so **loud**. Peter sniffled and the ringing didn’t stop… but he needed to make sure his mama was alright. She might be scared from the loud noise too. So, he opened his eyes slowly and looked into the room. Mama was laying on the ground and she wasn’t moving at all. Peter knew she must have been hurt._

_He ran into the room. He ran up to his Mama and he saw the red on her shirt. A bright, ugly red… it had been Peter’s favorite color before, but he didn’t like it so much anymore. It was an ugly color and he hated it now.  He hated it for forever._

_“Mama? Mama? You ‘kay? Mama? Mama?” He cried as he gently patted his mother’s cheek. He was squatting next to her motionless form, chubby legs bent far enough so his bum barely brushed the ground. Tears fell from his eyes when she didn’t respond to him. He didn’t understand… why wasn’t she answering him? He patted her cheek again, but, again, she didn’t answer, so he turned to look up at his daddy._

_“Daddy? She no- she no… she no ‘kay?”_

_His daddy looked upset. Peter didn’t understand. Was his Mama too hurt to answer him? Why would Daddy hurt her so much?  Maybe she was just sleeping because she got so tired of yelling… but what was the ugly red? Was it like the red from when Peter scraped his knee?_

_But-but there was so much… how could there be so much? His mama must be so, so hurt. She must hurt so, so bad._

_Then a thought hit him..._

_Was-was Mama killt? Is this what not being able to hug and smile and play and pet kitties anymore looked like? Peter had never actually seen someone who was killt before..._

_“C’mon Pete.” His daddy picked him up. Peter froze… his daddy never picked him up. Only his mama… “Your mama needs time to rest.”_

_Peter cried… he didn’t understand._

_Why wasn’t she okay? Why wasn’t his mama okay?_

_His father started walking towards the hallway again and Peter stared over the man’s shoulder at his mother’s lifeless form sprawled on the carpet. Why wasn’t Daddy worried? Was she gonna be okay? Was she killt? Would she still be able to hug Peter? Laugh and smile with him? Would she be able to build blocks with him and read him his favorite books? Was she gonna be okay?_

_“Let’s get you back to bed kid.”_

_Peter didn’t like it. He didn’t want to go back to bed._

_He wanted his Mama._

Peter blinked awake slowly, a strained whine scratching against the back of his throat as he floated back into the land of the living. He wanted his Mama. He could see the vague images flashing across the forefront of his mind like it was only a distant memory. He barely registers the memory of his father tucking him into bed that night with a kiss to the forehead and a promise that everything would turn out alright in the end. 

He remembered it hadn’t.

Then he cried.

He tossed his head around, looking around the room in search of his PepPep. He was sure he’d fallen asleep beside her… but now she was gone. He didn't know where she could possibly have went.

He sits up a little straighter in his bed and rubs his eyes with his fisted hands. He sniffles and a small sob escapes his mouth as he whines. He felt so alone, and he didn't want to be alone. He _hated_ being alone. Bad things happened when he was alone.

"Mommy?" He cried out helplessly, hoping somehow Pepper would hear his distressed call. He just wanted Pepper. Or maybe even Tony... He just wanted someone to hug him, cuddle him, and tell him he was safe and loved and that there was no reason to be scared.

He never liked remembering the night his father killed his Mama. It made him so sad. 

“Ha’ley?” He called out fruitlessly in hopes that maybe the previous day had all just been a part of the terrible nightmare too and that his new brother was simply a single bed away. 

Harley didn’t answer.

He missed his big brother.

He rubbed at his eyes again and called out for Pepper once more… she still didn’t answer. So… he tried Tony.

“Da-Daddy?” He whispered meekly into the dark room. 

He still hasn’t forgiven him for what he did to Harley… but Rhodey said he was really sad about what he did. Peter still didn’t know what to think about it. He didn’t know what Daddies were supposed to do or not do beyond what Harley had already told him. He just… he just wished Harley was there so he could explain if Tony was still his daddy or not. He didn’t like not knowing if Tony was allowed to be his daddy. All he knew was that he was tired, scared, and alone and he wanted PepPep and Tony. Anybody, really.

He wiped his eyes angrily and huffed as he crawled his way towards the edge of the bed. If they weren’t going to come to him, he’d just have to go find them. He didn’t want to be alone anymore. And he was always allowed to sleep in their big comfy bed after a bad nightmare… Tony would always let him cuddle a whole lot if he was really sad. 

He sniffed and rubbed his nose. He wanted to cuddle.

He reached the door, barely tall enough to grab onto the handle and push it open. He heard muffled sounds from the outside of his room, and he frowned, pushing his body weight against the door to open it fully. As soon as the barrier between his room and the outside was pushed aside, he could suddenly register the familiar sounds of a heated argument breaking out somewhere within the large penthouse. He found his lip began to tremble and he felt a heavy weight fall into the pit of his stomach, accentuating the panic from his nightmare. Someone was yelling. Someone was going to be killt. He didn’t want someone to die.

Then he heard PepPep’s voice… his Mama’s voice. She was yelling. She was mad… his Mama was mad. She was going to get hurt. She was gonna be killt.

He had to be quicker this time! He had to get there before something really bad happened and she wouldn’t be able to hug him and Harley anymore. 

He sprinted towards the large Living Room where he could hear the voices, and as he drew closer, he could hear the distinct sound of a loud smash and then cracking and crumbling. Then he heard Tony too… he heard him yell back… and he was mad. He was mad at Mama. Daddy was mad at Mama. Daddy was mad at his Mama again and he was gonna kill her. No. He wouldn’t let it happen.

_"It’s my fault!! I know!!! I messed up. You don't gotta shove it in my face!!"_

He froze at the end of the hall, still hidden by the shadows. He stared out at the two adults he had grown to love. PepPep and Tony. PepPep and Tony… Mommy and Daddy. 

A hiccupped sob was muffled through the hand he held pressed to his mouth. Tony wouldn’t do this. Tony wasn’t like his father. Tony was his Daddy… 

Tony was crying… his father never used to cry like that when he was angry.

Peter didn’t understand. The yelling had ceased and for a moment he thought the fight may have ended. He stepped forward an inch, ready to run into the room with his arms outstretched so he could be cuddled and coddled by both his parents for the rest of the night and be tucked into their big warm bed between them. He was just so upset… he missed Harley and his old Mama. He just… he just wanted everything to be okay. He wanted to sleep in their big comfy bed so Daddy could chase away the evil dreams and so Mommy could keep him extra warm and comfy.

But before he could enter the room, Tony stepped closer to his Mama… he stumbled. His eyes were weird, and his body moved differently… and he looked sick. For a moment he was worried Tony may be really sick, but then his body swayed in a scarily familiar motion as he lifted an arm towards PepPep. Peter’s mouth opened in horrified realization. His head snapped every which way as he examined the room for the sight of a familiar bottle… he had never seen Tony drink from one before… but-but maybe he did. 

There was no bottle though… 

Peter cried big, fat, ugly tears and he wiped furiously at them. He didn’t understand. Tony would never hurt PepPep. He loved her so much. He loved Morgi so much too. He would never hurt them. He wouldn’t. Peter knew that.

So, he stayed put. He didn’t want to make him mad. Tony had already gotten mad at Harley and-and almost hurt him too… but Peter knew he wouldn’t hurt his Mama. He just wouldn’t. He couldn’t be drunk because there was no smelly bottle, so he couldn’t hurt her. Never.

He watched as Tony stepped closer to PepPep again… and for some reason PepPep looked scared. She had never looked at Tony like that… then something she said made Peter’s breath hitch…

"Tony, don't--" she warns with a shaky voice. She holds out a hand to stop him and takes a step away, but Tony ignores her. He takes another large step towards her. "Tony no! Don't make me call Rhodey up here. You're **_drunk_** _…_ don’t--just don’t."

 _Drunk._ Tony was drunk. He was gonna kill his Mama. His Daddy was gonna kill his Mama again. He couldn’t let it happen. Never, never, never.

He doesn’t remember much of what happened after that. He functions on a blind rage and a devouring fear that he may lose more of this family he had just found.

But he does remember later that night. After Tony left and his Mama was safe, Mama tucked him into her large bed right next to her. She held him and rocked him and sang him a soft song as he cried. He cried about Harley, about his Mother, about his father, about almost losing his new Mama, and finally… about losing the Daddy he’d always wished to have. Tony was bad… Tony was so, so bad… he tried killing his Mama; he hurt Harley. Tony was just like his father.

“He wasn’t going to kill me, Baby.” Pepper whispered repeatedly into his ear as she rocked him in her arms. “He was just sad and confused and he probably just wanted a hug.”

Peter remembered her words clearly. He remembered shaking his head insistently because he had seen it happen. Twice. He knew what was happening. He wasn’t stupid. Tony may have been able to trick him into thinking he was his and Harley’s new Daddy, but now Peter knew the truth now. 

He wasn’t stupid anymore.

He hated Tony.

* * *

Harley lingered in the room for a while after Rhodey left. He had no plans on leaving the confines of the small room ever again. He couldn’t ever get hurt if he never left, right? He paced and grumbled and seethed, sitting down on the bed, standing up, then sitting down again. His hands were twitchy and there was an irritating tingle in his legs. It was like the sudden inexplicable urge one might randomly get to punch a chair for no reason other than simply wanting to. 

There was no chair to punch though.

So, instead, Harley punched the wall… and it hurt like a bitch too. He instantly regretted it.

“Shit,” he whispered through a heavy breath, clutching the wrist of his injured hand.

“Are you alright, Master Keener?” JARVIS sounded from above. Harley’s head snaps up to look at the ceiling. JARVIS had never spoken to him in his room before and remembering that the AI had eyes everywhere caught him just a bit off guard.

“Yeah,” he grunted. “Just gettin’ rid of some frustration is all.”

Oh boy was that the understatement of the century. He didn’t even know what he was thinking or feeling anymore. He’s felt a lot of different things over the course of his short life, mostly consisting of anger and terror. So, these new things-- love, heartbreak, sadness-- they were new to him.

He took another heavy seat on the edge of his bed and bent his head to stare at the hand he’s cradling in his lap. He growls, frustrated with the unfamiliar conflicts that were slowly beginning to spiral him into a panic attack. 

He wants to go see Pepper and Peter. He wants to go tell them he’s okay. He wants to watch dumb Disney movies with them. He wants to sleep in that ridiculously comfy bed in Peter’s room. He wants to listen and preen as Pepper drowns him in praise and affection after accomplishing one of her tasks. He wants to help Tony in his workshop. He wants to apologize to him. He wants to hug him… but he also wants to punch him too-- just like that ‘ _chair’_ \--… if that made any sense. He just-- the thought of the man made him so angry now. He didn’t understand it. Before… he’d been desperate for any lingering thought of Tony’s kindness, but now… he didn’t understand.

Harley feels another nerve snap and his entire body convulses with a violent tremor as he leaps unwillingly from the bed. And a sudden thought hits him. This conflict that was eating him from the inside out was all Tony’s fault! All of it! This ravaging guilt boiling in his stomach is all because of Tony.

Harley had told him - he _told_ him to stop treating him different. He told him to stop pampering him and being nice… he told him to stop caring and start acting like a normal Don, but he didn’t. The man wouldn't listen. 

He’d even warned him of their inevitable downfall of the domestic life he’d unofficially invited Harley to join. Harley had argued; he had told him specifically that he was going to mess everything up one way or another, and the stubborn man wouldn’t listen to him! Instead, he had lied… he said that anything Harley could possibly do would be forgiven. That Harley was good. That he was incapable of something terrible enough to deserve his hatred. Tony had lied. 

 And the worst part was that Harley had actually believed him too.

Harley sniffed and ran his sleeve beneath his nose. His face puckered as he fought off the tears and he pushed out a shuddered breath from between his cracked lips. 

_Tony had lied to him._

Tony hadn’t forgiven him for what he did… for-for something that he hadn’t even done. Tony accused him of something that he could never even dream of doing. He immediately assumed Harley would be the one to betray his trust. 

Tony had threatened him, and Harley swears he had never seen the man look so angry before. He was convinced that Tony would have done as he threatened if Harley had carried out what he had been accused of. Tony would have killed him he’s sure of it and that thought made him sick… Tony had been lying the whole time.

It was like a punch to the gut, knowing the only man he had ever trusted in his life would so easily turn on him. The man that claimed to trust him apparently didn’t trust him at all. It was like- it was like Richard Parker all over again. He had been manipulated into trusting someone he shouldn’t be trusting.

He had trusted Richard, but then the man tore apart his family and manipulated him into shouldering all the blame… and Harley had believed him for a long time too. It had never once occurred to him that it may not have been his own fault that this family was all dead. 

And now here he was. He had been tucked away into this poor excuse of a bedroom bearing all the guilt and blaming himself for all that had happened. For years he had been conditioned to take fault, so he believed he had really put Pepper and Peter in danger. That Tony had every right to be mad at him. He had believed it, but now that his head was clearing and the overwhelming events weren’t clouding his judgement, it was clear to him now. This was all Tony’s fault. He was not to blame.

This heartbreak, loss, and sadness he felt was all Tony’s fault.

Tony was the one that had grown attached to him after all. He and Pepper both. They were the ones who had decided to trust him. They were blind and stupid to trust him so easily. Now, everything was broken, and betrayal was being shouldered on both sides of the pond. 

Harley scowled. Things always went to shit when feelings got involved. There was always something to lose when you felt attachment… he learned that the hard way.

Tony and Pepper shouldn't have been so intent to invite him into their family. He had barely known them for a month. Both of them should have known better. They were experienced in this line of work. They should have known the repercussions their actions would have brought not only him, but them as well.

Heck, Harley had even known better. He tried to prevent this heartbreak. He really did. But now here he was, fantasizing over some domestic shit with a fake mother he had no business loving, a fake brother he had time and time again failed to protect, and a fake father that had lied to him and believed him to be a traitor. He wipes furiously at his eyes as tears began spilling down his cheeks. 

And that’s another thing too! He’s apparently a huge crybaby now. He swears he’s cried more these past two weeks than he has in his whole life. 

He had never been allowed to cry before. Not around his father. Not around Richard… but now here Tony is, waltzing around, promoting healthy coping mechanisms, and now he’s turned into a goddamned crybaby. It was disgusting, really. Harley was disgusted with himself. He used to be able to handle anything, and now the mere prospect of disappointing some fake family had him near a breakdown, curled up in a bed, fantasizing about hugs and dads and love. He was truly a disgrace to all he’s worked for. 

He was a baby that needed to get over himself! He was so stupid.

Some part of him wishes he had never met Tony Stark or Pepper.  After all, you can’t miss something you never had.

It probably wasn’t too late though… he’d only known them for a short while. His attachment was still in its beginning stages, it could easily be cut off without any major consequences...

With that final thought, his face sets into a determined frown and he flings himself from the bed. He marches around the room, gathering the very small sum of clothes that had been donated to him on his arrival. He shoves it all into a worn backpack he found abandoned in the closet not long ago. 

There isn't much for him to pack so it doesn't take him awfully long.

"Master Keener," JARVIS speaks again, "you are not planning on leaving, are you? The Boss does not permit you to leave the premises without his explicit permission."

Harley stiffens, slowly pulling the zippers together. Screw Tony Stark. Screw his rules. The man lied to him. He betrayed him. And he's ruined him; turned him into some sensitive little schmuck. He has no right to keep him locked away in this stupid tower like some Disney princess.

Still… Harley doesn’t know if he'll be able to bounce back from knowing he had to give up something so great; A life with so much potential. He knows he will regret it for the rest of his life… but he knows he'll regret it more if he stays. Like he had told Tony, bad people aren’t allowed to love things because loving something meant karma had something worthwhile to take away. 

Harley can’t tell JARVIS he's leaving though. JARVIS is a snitch.

"I'm just packing my things to take upstairs is all." He answers easily, without a single waver to his voice.  

"Would you like me to announce your planned arrival to Lady Stark?"

"No, that's alright. I want it to be a surprise. And I have to take care of a few things first." Harley wracked his brain trying to find some way to make his quick escape without getting caught. He turns his head towards the ceiling once more. "Hey J… where is the Boss now?"

"He is off site dealing with a classified leak regarding Hydra’s latest attack."

Harley nods slowly and shoulders his bag. A plan was already in the making. 

"Good to know." 

He exits his room slowly. He glances down the hall in search of the guards that had been outside his quarters earlier, but they must have left after Rhodey came to visit and cleared his name. Harley feels just a bit better at that. 

"J, I need you to disable Tony's protocol to not let me leave the Tower. I need to pick up something for Peter down the street. I don't want to interrupt the Boss during important business." Harley instructs with an authoritative voice. Pepper told him to always sound sure or he’d never get anything he wanted. 

"Sir, I apologize, but you are not authorized to enforce that command. Would you like me to call the Boss for you to request your leave."

Harley frowns. He knew it was a long shot. JARVIS was an AI after all. AI’s weren’t as apt to being tricked as a human he supposed.

"No, no, that's fine." Harley pauses and glanced around the hall. He needed to find a way to get into JARVIS' mainframe. His entire code should be weakened from the recent attack… it shouldn’t be too difficult to get his hands on.  

Then with that, he got an idea.

He needed a computer.

* * *

“So, um, Richard Parker…” Sam trailed off slowly as he walked alongside Stark. The guy wasn’t looking too great that was for sure and Sam wasn’t all too clear as to why Rhodes had asked _him_ of all people to watch over the man. “What’d he do?”

“He’s Oscorp,” Stark answered through gritted teeth. He sounded like he was toeing the line of an angry outburst, but Sam kept his spine straight and his chin up. 

“Well duh, I knew that,” he scoffed with a laugh. “Just wondering what made him so special. From what I know, you usually kill these guys right off the bat. Something special about this one?” 

“Hmph,” Tony grunted, turning another corner. They passed a hoard of about ten younger men whispering and laughing as they walked, but then they spotted Tony and all movement and chattering immediately stopped as they began to pass by… but Stark didn’t seem so happy about that. He whirled around on his heels and leveled the group with a glare and a loud growl. “What’re ya standing around here for?! Stop staring and do something useful before I break your legs and give you a real excuse to laze around.” 

All ten of them straightened and lifted a hand to salute Tony before they scampered off to go find something useful to do. Tony mumbled something incoherent under his breath and continued walking down the way they were headed. Sam followed without another word. Geez, the man was definitely grumpy this morning… that playfulness and snarkiness from the last few times they’d interacted were gone, but Sam could understand why. The guy was going through a lot; he needed to let off a little steam some way or another. 

They reach a door made of heavy metal. One that looks remarkably similar to the one in the room Sam had been held in while waiting for Stark to make an appearance.

“Keep your trap shut,” Stark commanded him with a heavy voice before opening the door and shooing the two guards lingering inside to station themselves outside the door.

“Parker,” Tony speaks, voice gravelly and strained from his mornings events. He doesn’t face the man. His back is to him as he studies the display of various tools and weapons that had been laid on the table across the room from where the man was tied to a chair. Sam stayed near the door, looking between Stark and Parker to try and discern where the heavy tension may have originated from. This wasn't a simple Stark vs. Oscorp quarrel. There was something else going on. His best guess was it had something to do with Peter.

“Stark,” Parker responded hoarsely. He visibly gulped after he spoke, dehydrated, and exhausted. Bandages were wrapped around one of his arms. Splints were holding each of his fingers together on the other. Stark had definitely done a number on him already.

Tony still didn’t turn around. Not until he chose which weapon he desired. He settled for a thin bladed knife and turned around. “Your time's up. Any last words?”

Sam remained uncharacteristically silent as he was instructed as he studied Richard Parker’s face. He was scared, that much was obvious.

“You don’t wanna do this Stark.” He forced out. “There’s still so much you don’t know.”

Stark stepped towards him and his expression remained neutral as he stares down at him. “My desire to kill you has far outweighed my patience.”

Parker can’t seem to find anything else to say. He pushes against the back of his chair, leaning away as much as he can as Tony continues his trek forward. His mouth opens and quivers as if he’s trying to speak, but nothing beyond a small hiss escaped his mouth.

Tony drops to one knee in front of the man in the chair and grabs his arm, beginning to slowly unwrap the bandaging that Bruce must have put on him last night. “Let’s continue where we left off, shall we?” He doesn’t hesitate to begin slicing through the irritated skin, but he barely makes it an inch before Parker is kicking him away and speaking once more.

“S-S-Stark wait,” he gasps. “Wait, let’s make a deal.”

Tony doesn’t seem interested. He simply grabs onto the man’s ankle which had been kicking at his chest, and twists until he heard the loud snap and the ear-piercing scream that followed it.

“Don’t touch me, Parker.”

Parker gasped for air, straining against the ropes tying him down. “Wait. Please. I’ll tell you more…”

Stark stares at him, blank and dark as his eyes bore into the pale face of his victim.

“I’m afraid I have nothing left on my bucket list before I die, except killing you. I’m no longer interested in whatever it is you have to say.”

“What if- what if…” he stutters with a deep intake of breath. “What if it’s about Peter?”

Sam watches as Stark pauses legitimately for the first time that morning. The hand wielding the weapon drops slowly and he waits for Richard to continue. 

“There’s so many things you don’t know yet…” Richard bargains. “How about, for every day you hold off on killing me, I’ll share with you something that would be worth your while.”

Tony considers him for a moment then gets to his feet. He turns to address Sam who was still standing idly by the door. Sam stares back, catching, for the first time, a real glimpse at the man’s aging face. His wrinkles are more prominent, and his skin is pale. Heavy bags of purple rested beneath his eyes and his eyes were dark; very dark. It was a look Sam had grown familiar with during his time in the military and the brief time afterwards during his volunteer years to assist veterans suffering traumas. Stark was broken and he needed to be fixed. His earlier doubt about the man was replaced with an empathetic respect for him and the misguided good he was striving to accomplish.

“What’s your take Wilson?” Stark questions him. Sam isn’t sure what to say. The decision as to whether a man should live, or die is a heavy one. One he doesn’t feel fit to bare.

“You still haven’t told me what it is he’s done.”

Stark scowls at him and turns back to Richard. “Fine. You better give me something extraordinary, though, or I’ll slit you down the stomach, turn you inside out, and make you watch.”

Richard Parker doesn’t hesitate to leap into his confession. “Oscorp’s partnering with the Ten Rings. We um… we were working with Stane as well. He dealt us weapons and your technology to help with our research an-and,” Richard coughed several times and closed his eyes as he carefully took another breath. “Stane wanted you gone, ‘cause you were messin’ with our advancing and all that, so he somehow got you to Afghanistan. I don’t know the details, but… Ten Rings needed help with finishing their machine, so two birds one stone, y’know…”

Tony narrowed his eyes. That wasn’t good enough. He already knew those things. So, he stepped forward and pressed the point of his blade to the edge of the man’s chin, lifting his head up so he would meet his eyes… but there was one thing that had been pressing on his mind... “Did Ten Rings kill my parents?”

Richard shook his head. “I-I don’t think so. They may have killed your mother, but I’m certain that Obadiah was the one to kill your father.”

Tony dropped his hand away and turned his back, so he was facing the table again. He set the knife down carefully. He felt his chest swelling with something, whether it was anger or sorrow he wasn’t sure. It was something between the two. Obadiah killed his father. He shook his head…. Obadiah must have been working for Hydra… Perhaps his father had found out about it.

His mother though. Had his mother suffered? Did his father know? Had she been captured and tortured too?

The facts of his parents death had always eluded him. He had been in Italy when it happened. When he returned Obadiah had told him it was a car accident… that the car had caught fire. He had advised that Tony not request to see the bodies. 

He could have stood there for a minute, perhaps ten. He wasn’t sure. But he was broken from his trance when there was a loud knock on the door, and he breathed a sigh of relief. Saved by the bell. 

He turned his head and nodded at Sam for him to open the door. The man opened the door and Allen stood stiffly on the other side, looking both excited and perturbed.

“Sorry to interrupt sir,” he immediately squawked, “but-but um we got a location on where those drones were being operated from.”

“Finally,” Tony sighed, shoulders sagging with relief. He felt that he was finally getting somewhere. “Don’t um… you haven’t told anyone else yet, have you?”

Allen shook his head. “Great.” He glances at the two other guards outside the door. “You two. Report to Hogan, don’t leave his sight. Have another pair escort Parker back to his room. Give him a drink and a meal. That’s it. Allen and Wilson, you’re with me. Let’s go.”

He marched out of the room and the two men followed.

* * *

Harley avoided any eye contact with the others. Supposedly, no one was aware of what went down in the penthouse earlier, but he still felt like an outcast amongst the group of heavily armed, trained soldiers who could snap his neck in a matter of minutes. There were only a select few who reminded him of himself; twig-like stature and a horrendous inability to fight according to Happy. He wasn’t able to watch them firsthand yet, but the picture in his mind made him smile.

He recognized the faces he saw but knew almost none of the names. There were too many of them. He’d been around long enough that he knew of just about everyone though; their station and who they worked under based on which cliques he’d seen them conversing with. So, when he rounded the corner and came across a new face altogether, guarding the training room and armory, he was a little surprised. It seemed a little odd that a single guy who looked barely into his thirties was left alone to watch over the most sought-after room in the Tower.

But, either way, Harley saw it as an opportunity. He took a deep breath and tried his best to recall the few tips Pepper would offer him on occasion. He concentrated on the way Tony would act and speak; Pepper’s particular choice of words and tone; and of course, Happy’s scary glare. He actually practiced the glare a few times in the mirror once. He cringed at the reminder of his childish actions; glad he had never gotten caught.

Confidence was key, though. He belonged here, he told himself. Heck, as far as anyone knew, he was still the Boss’ favorite-- besides Peter of course.

So, with one last steady breath, he fixed his face with a stony expression and rounded the corner with a hand in his pocket. He approached the heavy set of doors and nodded at younger looking man with the rifle. He held his breath as he reached for the door… anyone who was anyone knew he wasn’t allowed in here alone.

“Hey kid. You don’t look like you belong in there.”

Harley was panicking big time, but he didn’t let it show. He fought to keep his innocent demeanor and it was much harder than he expected. He would definitely need more practice if he planned to make a living off of doing this.

“Rhodes asked me to grab him something.”

The guy narrowed his eyes. “Rhodes?” Harley nodded. “Grab what?”

“His… hoodie.”

The guy looked like he was trying hard not to laugh. Harley frowned. 

“His hoodie?”

And yeah… that sounded ridiculous. Harley sighed at his own stupidity and pressed his hand to his face and an idea hit him. Misdirection. “Listen man, do me a solid a’ight. My dad’s gonna kill me. I took his special knife that I’m not s’pposed to touch and I brought it with me when I came down to train with Happy. Turns out,” he lifts his hands in a ‘what can you do’ gesture and pursed his lips together, ''I left it in there like the idiot I am. So, now I gotta run it back up to his office in the penthouse before he gets home and finds out I touched it. He’s been in such a pissy mood lately I don’t wanna make it worse.”

The guy’s eyebrows rose.

“You-your Dad… in the penthouse?”

Harley cackled evilly on the inside, but let his mouth drop and eyes widen as if he were totally horrified with himself. “Shit.” He whispered in faux panic. “You can’t say anything. You gotta swear it. He’ll kill you, then he’ll kill _me_.”

The poor guy turned pale. “Yeah, yeah. Um… I’ll help you look for it.”

Harley shook his head at him and lifted a hand. “No, it’s fine. I know exactly where I left it. You need to make sure no one else comes in, ‘cause technically I’m not supposed to be here.”

“Yeah, just make it quick alright.”

Harley grinned at him and scampered into the room, releasing the breath he had been holding pumped his fist in the air. _He did it!_

“Yeah,” he whispered to himself. He glanced around the room in a hurry, because he needed to be quick before this guy gets suspicious. He runs over to the back wall he knew the guns were hiding behind. He presses the button he’d watched Happy press so many times before and watched as the large tiles of wall turned to show off the shiny weapons on display. 

“What to take, what to take.” Harley muttered to himself as he scanned the array of weapons. There was most definitely a variety to choose from. All the way from special Assault Rifles to small tranq guns Tony calls Freezers. He settles for grabbing a Freezer and a couple more casings. He grabs a couple knives too, just in case.

“Master Keener, I believe you are prohibited from touching the weapons.”

Harley wants to punch the AI in the face so bad. 

“You’re right JARVIS, but as you can see, I’m not grabbing anything dangerous. This was just another one of Pepper’s tests. She wanted to see if I could sneak in here by myself and steal some stuff without anyone noticing.”

“I have no recollection of her giving you this assignment.”

“You’ve been malfunctioning all day JARVIS,” Harley spat out in annoyance, “you’ve been missing a lot of things lately. Don’t start accusing me of shit like Tony did.”

“I apologize, sir. Continue on.”

Harley sighed in relief and continued checking off the his mental list of things he’d need for his escape, and he grinned at the thought of this being like that game Escapist Tony would sometimes let him play on his phone… he rocked at that game.

When he was finished, he rushed out of the room, and nodded at the man still stationed outside.

“You find it?”

Harley holds up one of the random knives he’d grabbed and smiled. “Yep, thank goodness.” He paused and narrowed his eyes. “Remember… don’t tell anyone what I told you. It’s, like, super classified. The highest classified you can get.”

“Will do, kid.” The guy laughed then nodded his head and smiled at him. Harley smiled back. He kinda liked this dude.

“What’s your name?” Harley asked, simply out of curiosity.

“My name’s Scott. Scott Lang.”

“Nice to meet ya dude.” Then with that, Harley marched off with his stolen weapons concealed beneath his jacket. He stored that bit of information at the back of his mind, thinking that if he was somehow dragged back to this place, kicking and screaming, that Scott Lang would be kinda fun to hang around with.

But he shook that thought from his mind because that wouldn’t be happening, and he went off to find a computer.

* * *

He ended up swiping Asher’s laptop from the lounge area because the dude was really bad at taking care of his stuff and Harley kinda hated him. The man deserved it. So, he sat on the floor, plugged into the nearest outlet, and quickly bypassed the login screen as he took a large bite of the apple he’d swiped from the kitchen on his way there.

“Hmm,” he hummed. “Where to start, where to start.” He paid no mind to the bustling taking place around him and continued his work. He wasn’t the best at the coding and hacking thing. He was much better with his hands… but still… he wasn’t the worst. He sorted through files and broke through mainframe barriers until he found what he needed. 

He hesitated for a moment as the mouse lingered over the ‘shut down’ button. He’d hate to cause more trouble to the security. He didn’t want to risk putting Pepper and Peter at risk for real. 

So, he only deactivated JARVIS’ cameras near the garage exit for the next 30 minutes, giving him plenty of time to make his escape without having to worry about Tony being alerted straight away. He has no way to know he was successful except for the green blurb that popped up on his screen claiming the deed was done. It didn’t lessen the anxiousness in his stomach. What if JARVIS saw past the command? 

He returned the computer to its proper place and hiked his backpack onto his shoulders once more and booked it towards the elevator. Once inside, he scrambled to grab ahold of the tranq gun hidden by his jacket because the guards stationed outside wouldn’t be letting him leave willingly.

His heartbeat rapidly in his chest in anticipation and he squeezed his eyes shut as he waited. This was big. There was no turning back from this. He was about to leave. He was about to leave Pepper and Peter and Tony.

He didn’t have much time to dwell on that before he heard the elevator ding to announce his imminent arrival. He opened his eyes and straightened his back. He saw the guards before he heard them. Then, as if on autopilot, he fired two shots, and both fell to the ground like ragdolls. He grit his teeth together at the sour taste left in his mouth and he exited the elevator. This was for the best.

He snuck around the cars, knowing there wouldn’t be just two guards down on the garage floor. 

He had to take out three more before he found his window to escape. He bolted outside, into the sunlight, onto the busy sidewalk outside, and he didn’t look back. He took a breath of fresh air and smiled despite the lonely ache in his chest at the thought of never seeing Pepper or Peter again. But he kept running anyway. He ran even though he knew he’d miss annoying Happy and Rhodey. And he forced one more breath through his lungs knowing Tony probably wouldn’t even care that he left.

He ran because he knew if he stayed it would hurt worse that if he left.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys liked it so far! So sorry if the end was a little 'meh' I was just getting tired of writing and I really really wanted to get it out tonight. Anyways! Love y'all to pieces!
> 
> Also, I'd like to thank jwriter819 for giving me some awesome ideas! Thank you so much! It helped a lot!


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tony’s back in the car, breathing heavily and squeezing his eyes shut. The bullet was still lodged somewhere near his ribs and all the movement was irritating the hell out of it. “I-I need a steadier aim. I can’t,” he takes a large breath, “I can’t aim hangin’ out the window while we’re swervin’ everywhere.” He shoots a pointed glare at Happy and the man responds that time with an irritated ‘tsk’ and a comment of “would you rather me _hit_ the cars?”.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've been waiting a long time to write this chapter! I love it so much! Here comes some action! But boy it's definitely a long one. Hope y'all enjoy.

“Sir Rhodes, if I may interrupt for a moment...” JARVIS interrupts politely.

Rhodey pauses, amid the instructions he’s giving to the rally of troops standing patiently in front of him, and he addresses JARVIS by cocking his head to glance towards the nearest camera and quirking an inquisitive brow.

“Can’t it wait JARVIS?” He sighed in exasperation. “I’m tryin’ to organize a tactile support team for Tones before he gets in over his head and gets himself killed.”

“Of course it can wait, sir, but I’d advise against it. Neither Mr. Stark nor Lady Stark would be pleased if the matter were postponed any longer.” 

Rhodey raises both his eyebrows at that and the 30 or so men and women at attention around him, perk up at the cryptic announcement as well. The room immediately quiets of any chatter that may have been taking place before. Everyone in the Tower was still on edge after the events that had transpired the day prior. It was hard to know who to trust and with every moment that passed that they couldn’t identify the mole, the anticipation for a second attack grows.

“What is it then J?”

JARVIS doesn’t hesitate another moment to announce the problem. “Master Keener vacated the premises exactly 45 minutes ago and he has yet to return.”

A chorus of loud “what’s” echo through the room. The uproar of panicked chatter is nearly enough to make Rhodey want to clamp his hands over his ears. The kid was definitely a hit around the Tower, despite what he seemed to tell himself… He was a part of the family. Everyone just tended to keep their distance… especially after what happened after Asher took his iconic teasing a bit too far.

“The kid just LEFT?” Asher shouts in a panic, his powerful voice ringing clearly through the commotion. 

Rhodey goes stock-still, mouth open and eyes wide as he slowly processes. Tony was going to freak the hell out! “Shit,” he whispers, voice panicked and soft at the thought of the potential consequences of losing one of his Boss’ favorite kids, “shitshitshitshit.” His panic grows in droves and the noise around him was most definitely not helping him think clearly… perhaps this was all just a simple misunderstanding… He waves his hands in an insistent gesture for everyone to quiet down so he could concentrate on his next course of action. This needed to be taken care of ASAP. Tony would wring all their necks if the kid somehow got hurt while he was on their watch.

“I thought you were supposed to keep the kid from leaving JARVIS. And why are you informing me  _ now,  _ instead of 45 minutes ago when he actually left?!”

Rhodey didn’t think it was possible for an AI to sound so sheepish, but  _ heck,  _ it was  _ Tony Stark’s _ AI, he shouldn’t be surprised.

“Well, he had originally requested to leave without me informing the Boss so he could pick up something special for Master Peter. I, of course, did not allow him because of Boss’ strict protocols, but he seemed very persistent. He made such an effort in manipulating my sensors and planning his escape that I decided to indulge him a while and refrained from informing anyone of his disappearance.” JARVIS paused to allow that to sink in. “He seemed to be having a rough time, and I thought a nice outing without the prospect of speaking directly to Mr. Stark would make him feel a bit better… perhaps a bit independent even. However, I did nothing to aid his escape. He did it on his own accord and in all honesty, his escape was quite impressive for an untrained child… but now I am beginning to worry for his wellbeing. He has been gone for a fair amount of time and I am unsure if I made the correct judgement call here.” 

“Yeah, well no shit!” Asher growled once JARVIS was finished speaking. “You don’t just let a kid like that out on the streets alone.” The hefty man turns to look back at Rhodes, gaze steely. “Sir, should I gather a group to hunt him down?”

Rhodey presses a hand to his skull and shakes his head. “Just wait. I need to call the Boss, see what he wants us to do. We can’t leave the base that vulnerable. There’s still potential for Hydra to be-”

“The kid’s gonna get hurt!” Asher interrupts with a loud voice. “We can’t just stand around and wait for the Boss to make a decision.”

Rhodey settles the man with a scathing glare. “Don’t forget who makes the calls here Mr. McCabe. The kid can hold his own for a few more minutes. We don’t need to make any hasty decisions if he was simply running an innocent errand like he had told JARVIS.”

Voices of protest begin to rise from the crowd and Rhodey struggles to tamp it down. Apparently, the group was a bit more attached to the potato kid than he had predicted. “Hush. The kid will be fine; everything will be taken care of. Now go suit up.”

Reluctantly, the crowd disperses, and Rhodey refrains from howling in frustration. He’d pull out his hair if he had any… he couldn’t believe the kid would do something so reckless. Although, he supposes, the kid’s judgement was a bit clouded. Tony had given him quite the scare...

“JARVIS, fill Happy in on what’s goin’ on.” 

“Mr. Hogan is in the penthouse helping Mrs. Stark fill Peter’s bath. Master Peter had made quite the mess of himself at breakfast.” Rhodey could hear the fondness in the AI’s voice as he trailed off. “Shall I inform Lady Stark of the predicament as well?”

It felt like a man had ripped out his lungs at the prospect of what Pepper might do to him if she found out he had lost one of her babies. Castrate him, perhaps? “No JARVIS!” He answers quickly. “Just um… don’t tell her. She’d go ballistic. Just… just tell Hap to meet me down here as soon as possible.” So, with that command and an involuntary shudder, Rhodey pulls out his phone and dials Tony’s cell, hoping he would pick up. He just prayed the kid didn’t get caught up in something stupid.

* * *

“Take the next exit,” Allen instructs from the backseat, holding his phone up at his eye level as he looks from the front windshield and back to the screen. Tony was driving and Sam was riding shotgun so his sore leg could stretch out. The entire ride had remained awkwardly silent apart from Allen’s terrible navigation skills making an appearance here and there. It was tense and uncomfortable and Tony looked to be extremely on edge if the way his hands were gripping the steering was anything to go off. From what Sam had heard, seen, and experienced himself, Stark was typically a witty, cheerful, no-nonsense sort of guy, and this new dark, brooding thing he had going on did not help his overall uneasiness with the issue at hand. 

Eventually, Sam decided enough was enough because he’d always been a motormouth and he was sick and tired of this uncanny silence… he also wasn’t all for the fact that Stark looked damn near suicidal as he was driving them through heavy traffic at what seemed to be light speed. Sam preferred his chauffeurs to have a healthy regard for human life. He knew his hands were going to cramp later with the way he was gripping his seatbelt… he needed a distraction and perhaps Stark did too.

“So… what’s the plan?” Sam turned to stare at the side profile of the stiff man beside him. The dude didn’t so much as twitch a muscle. His mouth remained in a hardened frown and his eyes remained forcibly fixated in the direction of the road despite the distraught hollowness lingering behind them. Sam saw the man’s fingers twitch. “Stark?”

“I’m gonna take a look at this place. See if it's even worth draggin’ guys out here… and trace of them may be long gone by now.”

“And if they’re not?” Sam questioned slowly. Again, the idea of rushing into a dispute against Hydra troops alongside a suicidal man wasn’t exactly his idea of fun and safe.

“Well,” Stark huffs and nods discreetly towards the glovebox. Sam glared at him and leaned forward to pop open the compartment. He really shouldn’t have been surprised when he was met with the sight of approximately 5 distinct types of guns and several boxes of high-tech tracer bullets, but  _ damn _ . 

“Right here, Boss.” Allen speaks up as they approach the exit.

“I know!” Tony roars in irritation. “I heard you the first time. I’m not deaf.” Then with that, the car lurches, and the tires squeal as he swerves to make the turn.

Sam refrains from saying anything more. Instead, he reaches forward and grabs one of the lightweight pistols. He’d never held one of Stark’s specialized guns before, they were ridiculously expensive and definitely had a high demand in the black market. He grins as he plays around with it, getting a feel for the fancy weapon… that is… until Stark spoke up again.

“Don’t get any funny ideas, Wilson.” 

He looks up just in time to see Stark’s shiny revolver pointed at his face, propped up by the elbow of his extended right arm that had a firm hold on the wheel. Sam’s eyebrows raise and he slowly places the pistol back in the glovebox and shuts the compartment. He holds up his hands slightly and fixes Stark with a pointed stare. “Don’t be so paranoid, Stark. I’m not gonna shoot ya. At least not while you’re bookin’ it down the highway.”

Slowly, Tony’s head turns just a bit so he can glance at him. His frown doesn’t budge, but he does lift his left hand so he can tuck the revolver back where he had hidden it. Again, Sam is slightly taken aback by the man’s devoid expression and nonchalant manner. He assumes the threat of Hydra and his altercation with the kid had put him in a bit of a pissy mood; not that he blamed the guy in the least. He’d be in a pissy mood too if he’d been exposed so national television.

Sam decides to shut up before Stark decided to pull the trigger on him for being a nuisance or whatnot. So, the silence returns for another good ten minutes until the shrill sound of a phone ringing fills the deafening quiet. It startles Sam just a bit (he’d never admit it), but all it does is seem to piss Tony off even more. The car jerks to either side as the man grumbles and struggles to grab the phone tucked away in his front pocket. 

He glances down at the screen and quickly swipes to answer. “What’s happenin’ Platypus? You got Nat and my guys ready?” He presses the device to his ear and feels a somewhat calm sense of serenity pass over him because Rhodey’s always got his back. He can trust Rhodey.

“Yes and no…” Rhodey’s voice is muffled and he sounds worried. Tony frowns, mind quickly being bombarded with worse-case-scenarios. Rhodey was typically very verbose with issues; something was wrong.  _ Had Hydra attacked the Tower? Did Pepper go into premature labor? Had one of the kids been kidnapped? _

“Well that was cryptic as hell. What’s going on?” Tony feels the short-lived serenity drip away and become quickly replaced with the all-too familiar sense of dread

“Harley’s gone.” Rhodey answers; simple and sweet.

The car jerks once more and several horns blare in a panicked frenzy when the Audi nearly swerves into them. “WHAT?? What do you mean he’s gone?”

Sam looks over at him with a worried crease between his brows and his lips downturned into a worried frown, but he doesn’t interrupt. He assumes they must be talking about the kid… 

“JARVIS said he left 45 minutes ago. Apparently, he claimed he was just running out to grab Pete something, but he hasn’t come back yet.”

Tony growls into the phone, head whipping in every direction to get a figure of the surrounding traffic; the quickest escape route perhaps. “He’s not supposed to leave the Tower by himself. He’s gonna get hurt.”

“You don’t think I know that, Stark?!” Rhodey sounds panicky and for once Tony’s glad for the man’s proclivity towards dramatics and mother-henning. “I’m shittin’ myself just thinking about it.” 

“How’d he even get out in the first place? JARVIS has specific protocols to prevent things like this from happening.”

“Why don’t you ask your good-ole AI about that? He let the kid go in the first place.”

Tony scowled, growing more and more frustrated at the coming influx of traffic. “I should have activated FRIDAY before I left. His coding must still be damaged after-” his panicked rambling is cut off by Rhodey’s brisk “hang on”. Tony could hear loud murmuring and the distinct sound of Rhodey’s voice ordering for a discreet search party to be formed. 

“Rhodes. Rhodey what’s happenin’ over there.”

There was a pregnant pause and then Rhodey’s voice is speaking in a strained whisper. 

“Asher found- um. He went looking for how the kid escaped… he found 5 bodies in the garage-”

“What?” Tony’s voice came out in a very unmanly squeak; throat instantly raw and dry.  _ How could the kid… why would he do something like that? _

“No! Not like that,” Rhodey was quick to amend. “Kid knocked ‘em out. He must have gotten his hands on a Freezer pistol or something. Not dead. No-um… but I think this means he ran. Like… planning on never coming back. He wouldn’t have gone through all that trouble if he planned on coming back.”

Tony’s chest tightens and it feels like a hand had wrapped itself around his neck, and another had rose from the pit of his stomach and was clawing at the inside of his throat. “You-you said he was good. You talked to him… you told me he was doing fine!”

“I know- I know. I thought he was fine. He must have freaked or something. I don’t know...”

“Alright-alright,” Tony took a sharp inhale and closed his eyes for a moment to get his bearings. He had a good feeling of what this might be about, and he needed to try and fix it no matter how badly he wanted to just ignore the issue and pretend it never happened. But it did. And now his kid was out there in the streets of Manhattan; all alone, cold, and unprotected. “Here’s what you’re gonna do. I want you to send a group of guys to the location Allen’s about to send to your phone. I want everyone else out looking for that kid, but  _ do not _ engage. I-I-I need to be the one to talk to him first; I don’t want to risk him running before I-I… before I can. I’m headed back, ETA 20 minutes-”

“But sir,” Allen interrupted from the backseat, “we’re at least an hour away. We’re almost on site, it wouldn’t be logical to turn around now. Why don’t we go check the place out first, then turn around once they find him-”?

“Allen,” Tony warned sharply through gritted teeth, “I swear to god if you say one more stupid thing I won’t hesitate to reach back there and wring your neck with my bare hands. Send the coordinates to Rhodes.” With that last instruction, Tony spins the wheel sharply, sending the tail of the car swerving in front of them as he makes the U-turn in the middle of oncoming traffic. The tires squeal sharply amongst the loud car horns going off around them, the engine revs and the specially modified Audi easily hits high speed as Tony begins weaving dangerously through the traffic, plowing through clear areas along the sidewalk.

“Tones don’t be reckless,” Rhodes instructs over the phone. “You can’t help Harley if your dead.”

Tony hangs up the call and tosses the device into Sam’s lap. The man fumbles with the expensive phone before catching it safely in his hands. Tony doesn’t look away from the road. “Call Captain Spangles.” He instructs, narrowly missing another cars bumper when veered over the curb, onto the wide sidewalk to pass a line of parked cars.

“Uhh,” Sam drawls, staring down at the screen, “who?”

“Steve Rogers. His contact name is Captain Spangles,” Tony huffed in exasperation, turning to look at him. “Do you not know how to work a phone?”

“I’ve been a hobo for three years, man. I don’t know how to work this futuristic shit.” Sam bellows, waving the phone around sporadically, panic budding as he sees cars zip by them. Tony takes a quick turn into an alley to detour onto a less busy road running parallel to them. He merges dangerously into more traffic with a grumble.

“My god,” he groans, throwing his head back. Here take the wheel.” He recklessly takes his hands off the steering, reaching his hands for the phone. Sam scrambles to steady the steering as Tony continues muttering to himself. “I knew I shouldn’t have severed JARVIS’ auxiliary connections.”

“Heck man, WHERE WE GOIN’?” Sam bellows in a panic. Tony glances up nonchalantly, as if he hadn’t just pushed down on the accelerator even more. 

“Just go straight,” he responds, angling his head back down to scroll through his contacts. It doesn’t take but a few more seconds before he’s pressing the phone to his ear and taking back control of the wheel. The cell rings and Tony’s irritated grumbling continues.

Finally, he answers.

“Stark!” He sounds relieved. “I thought you were gonna keep blowing me off. We need to talk about what happened-” 

“No time Rogers,” Tony growls, teeth pressed tightly together. “I need a police escort from Brooklyn to Manhattan stat.”

“Right now?”

“Yes! NOW! It’s an emergency. Send your closest squad car.”

“Okay-okay, calm down,” Steve placates over the phone. “What’s this about?”

“Long story short, Keener made a run for it while I was out. I need to find him and bring him back to the Tower before someone nabs him. Neither Hydra nor Oscorp are exactly pals with me right now. Now everyone knows he’s affiliated very closely with me and I don’t even wanna think about what danger he could get in. So, do me a favor and keep a lookout for a skinny kid with dirty blonde hair. And send me that damn escort!” He didn’t bother listening to the man’s response before hanging up.

There were only a few minutes more before the blaring horn of a squad car could be heard in the distance. It came hurtling from one of the back alleys, swerving into traffic a few cars in front of Tony’s Audi. Tony sped up that much more and navigated through the few cars between them and then he was really off, speeding down the road behind one of Brooklyn’s finest.

* * *

“Any word?” Tony asked breathlessly as he came jogging up beside Rhodey. He pulled the cap down over his face even further and fixed his cold stare on the man. The car he had just jumped out of was ran up over the curb of the sidewalk, parked quite recklessly with two men still seated in the vehicle just as he had instructed them.

“Nothing yet,” Rhodey spoke forlornly, rubbing his palms together nervously. He had a cap on too, jacket collar popped up to hide his face as best he could.

“How far have you fanned out?” 

“I’ve got guys sent all over Manhattan. Nat’s leading a few in Queens. There’s been no sign of him yet. Maybe you should hook JARVIS back up to the security feeds and run facial recognition. He said you removed his access.”

Tony grimaced. “No can do. He’s still weeding out bugs. His firewalls are too unstable; the smallest probe into his coding can have his entire system collapsing. I can’t risk it.”

“FRIDAY then?”

Tony again shook his head, pressing both palms to either side of his face as he fought to figure a solution. “Her data processing isn’t advanced enough to handle all that information at once. It would overload her systems.”

“I’m guessing the others are the same?”

Tony nodded, and growled under his breath as he pinched the bridge of his nose. He hated not having a solution; he always had a solution… 

He glanced around the street a couple miles out from the Tower and glances around at the random faces of pedestrians passing them by without a second glance. He racks his brain for anything.

“I-I-I’m not sure what to do. I might be able to um… to string them all together and have ‘em work collectively, but they’ve never operated together at the same time. I’m not… I’m not sure how well they would work together.”

“You talk about ‘em like they’re children. They’re computers Tony. They won’t plot against one another fighting for your attention.”

Tony scowled at him. “That’s exactly what they’re going to do Rhodey. Have you not been around when I have JOCASTA or TADASHI working under FRIDAY? Each of them things got a mind of their own.”

“Alright-alright, fine...“ Rhodey’s nervous hand rubbing returns and he glances towards where Happy had just barreled his way out of the fifth corner store on that street, undeterred and heading straight for the next one with a determined crease between his brows.

Tony’s foot taps anxiously on the cemented sidewalk. Then he cranes his neck to look at the passengers still in his Audi. He stalked over and opened the driver door, peering in with a stern glare. 

“Wilson, Allen, listen up. I need you to head back to the Tower. Head straight to the basement and call me when you get there. No lollygaggin’! Get goin’!” At his command, Allen rushed to exit the backseat. Tony steps away and allows him to get in the driver's seat, and moments later they were gone. Tony turns back to Rhodey. 

“C’mon,” Tony growled out, stalking down the sidewalk, “let’s go find my kid.”

It takes another whole half hour of searching before someone finds him. After Tony talked Wilson and Allen through activating his prototype AI’s they were able to catch a potential glimpse of Harley in the Bronx through security feeds. How he had gotten there so quickly, Tony had no idea. It seemed nearly impossible really, so Rhodey had sent the nearest guys to check it out just to be sure. Sure enough, they reported back after ten minutes, claiming the kid was all alone sitting in a dingy diner. 

Tony’s heart leapt into his throat, and it only took Happy 15 minutes of reckless driving to make it all the way across town.

“In there?” Tony asked, pointing towards the diner across the street from where Happy had parked in front of the finely dressed man and woman who had reported it in.

“Yes sir. We don’t believe he’s spotted us yet.”

Tony squints to try and see his kid, but the most he gets is a mop of blonde hair peeking over the shoulder of a large man sitting in the booth in front of him eating a large cheeseburger. “Alright,” Tony sighs, “you two get back to the Tower and help hold down the fort. Rhodey, Hap, stay here for a few, would ya?”

He didn’t wait for any confirmation from either party. He was too busy already dodging traffic as he crossed the busy street. He approached slowly, swallowing the nervous lump in his throat. He wasn’t sure how he should approach this confrontation. Hesitant, Sad, Angry, Relieved? He was feeling all these things, but none seemed quite right. For a second there he almost chickened out, but he knew getting the kid back safe was his top priority. He needed to put his insecurities and emotions to the side and bite the bullet. Even if the kid never forgave him… at least he’d still be safe. 

He walked into the diner and lifted the cap from his head. He approached the booth Harley was sitting at, hunkered over, staring at the hands he had clasped atop the table. The corners of Tony’s mouth lifted into a relieved smile and the crushing pressure in his chest wisped away at the sight of him. He didn’t comment on the mangled hand the kid was sporting, or even the dark circles beneath his eyes and he took a seat down in the booth cushion across from him. 

Harley’s head snapped up in a panic. He stares at Tony and over the course of a few seconds his face morphs from anger, to relief, to fear, then back to anger once more. Tony remains still as he watches the kid jump into action, grabbing his backpack and leaping from the booth to try and make a fruitless escape. All Tony has to do is grab his bicep and push him back into his seat.

“No more running,” he instructs firmly, watching Harley closely as the kid perches at the edge of the booth, watching him warily as if he wasn’t quite sure if Tony was going to attack him or not.

“Why-why are you here? How’d you find me?”

Tony sighs and rubs his eyes, balancing his elbow on the table and propping his head against his hand. He was just  _ so  _ tired.

“I was worried, kid. Had a whole search party goin’ and everything.”

Harley scowls at him. 

“Why do you care? Why can’t you just leave me alone?” He stands from the seat once more and Tony’s nostrils flare in irritation at the outright display of disobedience. He grabs the kid’s arm once more and pushes him down with much more force than he inflicted the first time. 

“Because you’re my kid. Now sit your ass down and look at me while I’m trying to have a conversation with you.”

Harley tears his arm out of Tony’s grip and glares. By that time, they grabbed the attention of a few nosey onlookers, but Tony couldn’t care less. His insecurities and fear was quickly overwhelming him and his body instinctively deflected the weakness and altered it into anger; lots of it.

“I’m not your kid, Stark. I’m your  _ prisoner _ .” 

“Don’t talk like that Harley. You know that’s not what this is.” Tony speaks firmly, eyes narrowing ever so slightly. He fights to keep the angry waver out of his voice, and he clasps onto his left wrist tightly.

“That’s exactly what this is,” Harley hissed. No tears fell. There was no remorse; no more trust. He had broken the kid’s trust. “You lied to me, and you manipulated me.”

“I didn’t mean to-”

“But you did.” Harley snapped before he could finish, grip tightening around the straps of his backpack. 

Tony wants to apologize. He wants to beg for forgiveness. He wants to explain and explain until the kid understood, but he doesn’t know how to make him understand because there’s nothing to understand… he messed up. Plain and simple. 

“I never manipulated you Harley.” He hangs his head and closes his eyes gently, massaging his hairline with the tips of his fingers.

Harley’s usually pale face is quickly stained red. “But you lied,” he whispered in a hoarse voice. “You-you said you would forgive me.”

Tony felt his face heat up and a sting begin to form behind his eyes. “I know kiddo. I know. I’m sorry. I just-- I’m sorry.”

Harley stares at him, devoid of any anger. “I would never put them in danger y’know… you told me it was my job to protect them when you couldn’t… I-I would never--”

“I know you wouldn’t. I know.” Tony assures with a nod of his head. He’s still full of guilt for ever insinuating otherwise. He will probably remain that way for a long time.

Harley crossed his arms over his chest and looked away. “I think-- I think it’d be best if-if you leave me alone from now on.”

“I’m not gonna do that kid.” Tony argues, consternation riding up his throat.

Harley squeezes his eyes shut and growls. “Just leave me alone Tony. I can’t stand being around you.”

That one hurt. Tony felt it like a stab to the chest. All his fears are confirmed. The kid hated him. He wanted nothing more to do with him. He’ll never be forgiven for his mistake. He wished he could take it back. He wished to take it back so bad. Now, Pepper’s going to hate him. Peter’s going to hate him. No one is ever going to love him ever again. 

“I can’t be around you and your family, because the more I am the more I want to be a part of it… and-and I just can’t do that to myself anymore, okay? I told you this wouldn't work…”

Tony felt a strangled groan push against his throat, but he didn’t release it. “What about Pepper and Peter? At least say goodbye.”

“I can’t. I thought about it and-and I just can’t. I don’t think I could say goodbye...”

Tony turns his head in his palm and covers his eyes. He could feel his hot breath hit his wrist and he fought to control the obvious shudder as he exhaled. The kid wanted to leave because he thought he was too attached.  Attachment was the first step to loss. The familiar concept has him feeling all the more guilty. Tony knew the feeling all too well and it wasn’t something any fourteen-year-old should even have to think about. This was all his fault. He shouldn’t be getting so worked up over something like this. He’d only known the kid for a month.

Still… maybe he could convince him.

“Listen, kid, if this is about independence, then maybe we could work something out.”

“No, it has nothing to do with that,” Harley shakes his head emphatically, then he pauses. “Well… I mean. A little independence would be nice, obviously, but that’s not my point. I don’t want to hurt them.”

“You won’t.”

Harley’s eyes snapped to glare at him. “Well your opinion is irrelevant. Just yesterday you were so sure I-I had made the ultimate betrayal. I’m not gonna listen to any more of your lies.” Then his head dropped to stare at the tiled floor and he muttered under his breath, “I shoulda known better than to trust Tony Stark.” He looked back up at Tony. “You’re no better than the rest of them.”

“Fine!” Tony snapped, drawing a couple eyes in their direction at the somewhat loud outburst.  _ That  _ hurt. “Don’t believe me. Heck, I wouldn’t blame you if you never forgave me, but don’t believe for a second that I’m gonna let you wander the streets on your own and risk getting yourself killed. You’re a goddamned fourteen-year-old and you need someone to take care of you. End of story.”

“I’ll be fine. I can take care of myself. Now get out of my way.” Harley snapped back, pulling his bag tightly over his shoulders once more. He discreetly lowers his hand towards his lap and Tony doesn’t register the potential threat that single gesture insinuates until he sees the muzzle of a tranq gun propped itself on the edge of the table, pointed directly at his chest. 

His eyes widen as he stares down at it; then back at Harley. His eyes narrow slightly once the initial shock wears off. “Oh, and that’s another thing. I thought I told you not to touch my guns.”

“You did,” Harley grins cheekily, showing off his pearly whites. “But I don’t work for you anymore. I quit.” He stands, keeping the harmless pistol pointed at Tony, hiding it from onlookers by tucking it close to hide it with the fabric of his jacket. 

Tony hates the picture of Harley holding anything resembling a gun in his hands. It’s painting a picture of a memory that’s all too familiar. “Sorry kid, but I’m not letting you leave.” He grabs the kid’s arm. “It’s not safe. You need someone that can protect you, and I know you can’t trust my word right now, but I know you can trust that I’d never let anyone lay a hand on you.”

Harley scoffed at him and tugged away. He glanced out the window beside their booth and rolled his eyes. “I’m perfectly capable. You might think I’m some helpless little orphan, but I’m fine. Goons have been trailing me and my taxi the whole way here, but I lost ‘em easy. You can’t say-”

Tony stiffened instantly. “Someone followed you?”

Harley waved it off. “Yeah, so what? I lost ‘em, like, as soon as I rounded a corner. They didn’t even look all that dangerous.”

Before Harley could so much as blink, Tony had a strong hand around his wrist. The pistol was twisted out of his grip and he released it with a small yelp. Then, Tony tugged him into the booth beside him, tucking him close to his side and keeping the strong grip on his arm. Harley tugged, but he didn’t let go. Then, that’s when Harley actually looked up at him. He saw a strange look in the man’s eyes as he slowly surveyed their surroundings: inside and out.

“Tony, it’s fine. Stop being so paranoid.”

“Don’t tell me not to be paranoid, kid.” Tony muttered, squinting at something outside the window, across the street. Harley stares too, eyebrows furrowing in amused exasperation as he tries to pick out whatever it was that caught the older man’s avid attention. 

The next few seconds are fuzzy for Harley. One moment he hears Tony mutter a panicked ‘shit’ under his breath as the sound of shattering glass and loud screams fill the once quiet and peaceful atmosphere, and the next, he’s lying on the ground with Tony’s weight on top of him while bullets rain down on the seats they were just occupying. Stuffing and splinters of wood flew everywhere as tiny holes ripped through the booth cushions and table.

Tony tugs Harley so they’re barricaded by the hardwood of the booth and table, still lying chest to chest as he removes his own revolver from its hiding place in his jacket. His head swivels slowly, eyes narrowed like a cat on the prowl, and soon he’s rolling off of Harley while barking orders to the panicking patrons in the diner.

“Clear out! Everyone get outta here!” Harley makes a move to leave too, but Tony pushes him back to the ground with a strong shove and a finger in his face. “You,” he growls, “stay right there where I can see you. Don’t move till I tell you it’s safe.” Then with that, Tony’s propping his two hands against the edge of the table, gun balanced perfectly as his head peeks over the side to find his target. Loud shots ring out as Tony releases a few rounds, but then more bullets come raining into the eatery, shattering more windows and absolutely demolishing the cushions, stuffing flying everywhere. Tony shields Harley’s body from the flying debris with his own, holding up his own weight with his forearms braced on either side of the kid’s head.

“Tony!” Tony hears Rhodey’s panicked voice, and he turns to see his friend approach them in a crouch as he shoots at the roof where he can see three men scrambling to gather their things. 

“Rhodes. The kid said he was being followed. We need to find out by who and eliminate the threat before it gets out of hand.”

Rhodey nods stiffly. “On it. C’mon kid.” He reaches to help Tony pull the kid up. Another round of bullets splinter into the wood of the table. Harley winces. All three crouch against the side of the booths. 

As soon as the firing stopped, Tony quickly stood to his feet.

“Tony no!” Harley shouts, diving to grab him and pull him back down just as the man fires his last three rounds. Harley turns to look where he had been aiming and just barely catches a glimpse of two of the three men falling to the ground on the roof they were perched on.

“Alright, let’s go.” Tony grabs Harley’s hand and tugs him along beside him. Then he hands the kid off to Rhodey and takes one last look around to make sure no one had been injured. He spots the kitchen staff and workers cowering behind the counters. He smiles at them politely. “I apologize for the mess. I’ll have someone contact you about compensation for your trouble.” Then with a quick salute he jogs out the diner to catch up with Rhodes and his kid.

Rhodey pushes the kid into the backseat, scrambling in behind him, and Tony runs around the front of the car to dive in the passenger's side. Happy already has the car started and ready to book it out of there at Tony’s command. Tony collapses into the seat with a loud hiss, arm pressed firmly into his side, and he turns around to watch Rhodey checking the kid over. 

“He good?” He questions with a slight rasp. The kid’s face was slightly cut up from the glass and sharp wood, and Tony only hoped that was it. 

Rhodey’s hands skim over the boy’s sides and he nods his head. “Yeah… he looks it. We can have Bruce check and make sure though,” he releases a sharp breath and pulls the kid into a tight hug. “God kid you had me freaked.” Tony feels a surge of jealousy spike through him, but it was quickly overridden by the sharp pain in his side. He muffled a pained growl in his throat and pulled his hand away to examine the blood pooling onto his white shirt. Not good.

“Shit, Boss. You got hit.” Happy exclaims with wide, panicked eyes.

“Yeah, glad it was me though.” He shot a playful look over his shoulder at the kid. “Don’t think the squirt coulda handled it quite as graciously.”

Harley scoots forward in the seat, looking genuinely worried. “You-you got hurt?”

Tony’s playful smile dropped, and he was quick to reassure him. “Yeah, but it’s not the end of the world. I’ve had much worse, kiddo. Don’t worry.”

“I’m sorry,” Harley instantly apologized, completely ignoring what Tony had said. “It’s my fault. If I hadn’t run off, you wouldn’t have gotten shot. I’m sorry.”

“Hey, it’s fine,” Tony placates sternly. “I’m fine, don’t be sorry. Just think of this as payback for the shit I did to you, yeah?”

Harley was just about to respond, mouth open and ready, but--

“SHIT!”

The side of the car is suddenly assaulted with an array of bullets. Large, web-like patterns spread across the windows from where the bullets pierced it after attempting to break through. Rhodey shoves Harley down so his forehead is pressed between his knees and both Tony and Happy snap to attention. 

“Should I go after ‘em Boss?” Happy questions breathlessly, staring out the windshield as the car gets farther and farther. 

Tony looks between the disappearing car and Harley in the backseat, teeth grinding together and lips pursing tightly. “No, we gotta get the kid back safe-”

Harley, of course, immediately objects. “No! We gotta go after ‘em! You said so yourself. C’mon, it’s not like I’m gonna get hurt in here.”

Tony bristles and replies sarcastically. “Yeah, that is until you’re thrown through the windshield after they shoot out our tires and Happy goes throttling into another car.” 

“I’ll wear my seatbelt,” he says definitively, scooting back to buckle his belt to officiate the statement. 

A low growl permeates in Tony’s throat as he fights over what to do. If they didn’t get going now, they could lose them and then Tony would never know who had been chasing after his kid, but then…-

“Boss?” Happy questions uneasily, fingers flexing on the steering wheel. “They’re gettin’ away. What’re we doing?”

Tony takes one more glance into the backseat, making momentary eye contact with the kid and a shared look which holds so much more than words could express. He turns and sits properly in his seat, removing his revolver from his jacket pocket. “Step on it, Hap.”

They book it over the hill as Tony quickly pushes more rounds into the emptied cylinder. Rhodey’s in the backseat, unbuckled and lifting the floorboards to pick out an array of weapons from a hidden compartment. “Tones, want somethin’ less old fashioned, maybe?” He asks, holding out one of the advanced Stark pistols with a tight grip around the barrel as they drive over a pretty nasty pothole. 

Tony twists in his seat and instantly grabs for it. 

Happy remains silent as he concentrates, both hands on the wheel and eyes fixated ahead. 

Tony glances up and sees they’re almost within range of the car speeding and weaving ahead of them. He snaps a full magazine into the pistol and pulls back the slide with a sharp click, angling it up so the muzzle is pointed at the roof of the car. 

“Head down, kid,” he instructs loudly as he pushes the button to roll down his window. “Things are ‘bout to get pretty nasty.”

With that statement, Harley watches as Tony leans part way out the car window and shoots at the car in front of them. The back-windshield shatters and people mulling down the sidewalk immediately scream in terror. Cars honk and tires squeal as drivers swerve away from the car chase in a panic. Tony’s able to release three more rounds before he’s ducking his head back into the car just as the sound of bullets ricocheting off metal ring out in retaliation. Harley tucks his head down on instinct at first, but then lifts it slightly and peeks out from behind the passenger seat, hands gripping either side of the smooth leather. He can see a man leaning out the shattered windshield with a black assault rifle propped up and pointed directly at them. 

“Crap,” Tony mutters under his breath. “These guys came prepared. Hap, try an’ ride up next to ‘em.”

Happy grunts in acknowledgement and swerves around a puttering car as tiny cracks begin littering the front windshield as if only little rocks were disturbing it. The shooting stops, and then Tony was leaning out the car once more… and then so was Rhodey with his own badass rifle pressed against his shoulder.

A loud siren breaks through the chaos and Harley’s eyes bug out as he scurries to take a look out the back windshield. Tony and Rhodey duck back inside and Harley reaches over to tug on Rhodey’s jacket. “Uhh, guys... “ 

Both men turn to look and Happy curses when he spotted the red and blue lights flashing through his rearview. Harley turns to gauge Tony’s reaction and the corner of the man’s mouth quirks up into a smile. 

Tony’s phone buzzes in his pocket… he had a feeling on who it might be. “Keep goin’ Hap,” he instructs while he fishes out the device. He shakes his head in abject amusement. “Speak of the Devil. Take care of ‘im kid.” He tosses the device to Harley and the boy immediately clasped on and answered the call. 

“Stark what the hell?! I know it’s you--”

“Captain Rogers,” Harley greets cheerfully. “Are you the one chasing us?”

As he speaks, Tony reloads his pistol.

“No,” Rogers responds with a bristly tone. “Are you in the car with them, kid?” His voice is stern and disapproving and Harley’s cheeky grin breaks out as he watches Tony hang out the side of the car once more. 

“Uhhh, no?”

Steve released an exasperated sigh. “Put Stark on the line, kid.”

“No can do, he’s busy.” 

“Doing what?” 

Harley hums. “Sorry, that’s classified. Are you gonna make ‘em stop chasing us?”

“Kid, I can’t just call ‘em off when people can see Stark hanging out a window, shooting at a car. It doesn’t work like that. Tell whoever’s driving to pull over and stop before reinforcements are sent. If people see the police not reacting then--” Harley pulls the phone away from his ear and shouts over the noise. 

“He said he’s not gonna call ‘em off.”

Tony sighs and sits back in his seat, wincing ever so slightly as he applies a little more pressure to the wound in his side. Happy swerves to the left to follow the car down a lonely street. “‘Course he’s not,” Tony groaned. He turned to look at Rhodey. “Rhodes?”

“Yep, got it.” Rhodey responds with a set jaw and steely eyes. He pulls out a folded-up sniper rifle from the hidden compartment in the floorboards and Harley’s eyes widen as he unfolds the heavy-duty machine. Harley watches as Rhodey turns to glance out the back windshield once more, then jab his elbow into the side door. Instantly, the glass begins to slowly retract with a soft hum, and he props up the gun against the back hood of the car. “Stay down kid.”

Things continued to escalate like this for several minutes. Rhodey had shot out the tires of almost 5 squad cars, but more and more were still showing up.

Tony ducked back into the cabin of the car, out of breath and in pain. “Can you drive  _ any  _ slower?” He retorts sarcastically, shooting Happy a sardonic glare. Happy doesn’t respond to the jab and Tony’s back out the window, propping his elbow up against the window ledge to try for a steadier aim. Rhodey knocks out the tires of the latest cruiser and he sits back on his haunches to take a break before the next one shows up.

Harley’s heart is pumping from the chaos and his fingers are itching to help, but he’s probably already on thin ice with Tony and he doesn’t want to risk the man making them turn around because Harley was needlessly putting himself in danger.

Tony’s back in the car, breathing heavily and squeezing his eyes shut. The bullet was still lodged somewhere near his ribs and all the movement was irritating the hell out of it. “I-I need a steadier aim. I can’t,” he takes a large breath, “I can’t aim hangin’ out the window while we’re swervin’ everywhere.” He shoots a pointed glare at Happy and the man responds that time with an irritated ‘tsk’ and a comment of “would you rather me  _ hit  _ the cars?”.

“Tones, I’ll cover you while you get a good position,” Rhodey suggests, reaching to grab his rifle from earlier, but he pauses when he hears another siren. “Or maybe not…”

Harley sees his chance.

“I can take out the tires,” he offers confidently, already reaching for the release for his seatbelt.

“Absolutely not,” Tony growls at the same time Rhodey exclaims “Perfect-- oh c’mon Tony. The kid will be fine.”

“Yeah, Tony. I’ll be fine,” Harley chimes in, making grabby hands for the fancy rifle propped up against the backseats.

Tony snaps at him. “You. Zip it. You aren’t touching that thing, you understand?”

“Boss,” Happy interrupts, “hate to argue with ya, but we’re running out of options.”

Harley locks eyes with Tony. “It’s not like I’ll be hurting anyone. I’ll just be knockin’ out some tires… you can trust me, y’know.” 

“Don’t start guilting me into this,” Tony trails off, jaw setting into a disapproving frown. “Do you even… y’know what? Fine! It’s better than you hangin’ out the window.”

Harley grins and unbuckled his seatbelt. He sat up on his knees and grabbed hold of the rifle. Rhodey was hanging out the window while Tony snapped in another clip into pistol while slowly walking Harley through operating the advanced weapon. “Be careful,” he emphasized with a pointed look as he pushed something into his ear, “that’s a dangerous weapon. If you need help, tug on Rhodey.”

Harley gave him a thumbs up and settled his cheek against the cold metal to peer out the scope. Tony found himself smiling slightly at the sight of the kid. He hated it, but it felt nice to share his world with the boy too. 

“Alright, Hap,” he clapped his hand, “get me close.” With that, he tucked the pistol into the waistband of his pants and used both hands to grip the top ledge of the window, fingers skimming against the cold metal of the car roof. He hoisted himself up with a pained grunt, so he was perched on the window ledge. Rhodes kept his aim on the guy in the backseat as Tony pulled the pistol from his waistband and took steady aim for one of the back tires. He took a deep breath, aimed…. And fired just as Happy hit another pothole.

“Godamnit Hogan,” Tony cursed. Then he heard a tire bust, but it wasn’t the one he’d been aiming for. He turned just in time to see the police cruiser that had been tailing them swerve to the right, straight into a parked car along the sidewalk. He thought he could hear the kid celebrating too, which made him smile. He felt something akin to pride bubble up in his chest… his kid had a damn good aim.

Inside the cabin, Harley hollered in excitement as he watched one of the police officers riding shotgun throw a tantrum and flip him the bird as they rammed into a parked car. He turned around to see Happy’s grin in the rearview and he smiled back. He then notices Tony’s body perched precariously on the passenger side door. “Uhh, is that even safe?” 

Happy shakes his head. “Nope. Not one bit.” He didn’t seem so worried, so Harley tried not to be either. 

“Try to keep her a bit steadier Hap.”

Harley jolted at the sound of Tony’s voice coming through the speakers and Happy laughed at his surprise then pointed towards his ear.

“He’s got an earpiece in. Just in case he takes a dive out the window and has to yell at us, y’know.”

“Has that… has that happened before?” Harley had a feeling he wouldn’t like the answer. For some reason, the idea of his mentor, slash Boss, slash kinda-sorta father-figure, bailing out of a car going close to 60 or 70 miles an hour didn’t appeal to him so much.

“Yep. Plenty of times.”

Harley doesn’t say anything else. He keeps one eye on the road passing behind them and one eye on the car in front of them. Tony was able to grab one of their tires just before they took a sharp right turn onto a less busy street. Harley thinks one more should do it… because these guys were ridiculously good at the whole ‘evading’ thing. 

Then, the next thing he knows, Harley sees a third guy lean out the passenger side window, gun aimed and ready. The warning shout drowns in his throat as he watches in slow motion as the grizzly-like man shoots and then watches as Tony’s entire body jerks back. His pistol falls first and then the man himself is losing his balance and making a last-minute lunge out the window so he isn’t ran over by his own Audi’s tires.

Harley shouts as he watches Tony’s form roll along the curb and sidewalk then crumple like a limp ragdoll. Happy hits the brakes and Rhodey’s shouting at him. 

“Tony!” Harley shouts in a panic, yanking the door handle and throwing himself against it, but it doesn’t budge. 

“Go!” 

Tony’s voice was quiet and firm over the car speakers as he coughed out the command. Harley can see his form, yards behind them, as he struggles to push himself up.

Happy begins to step on the accelerator, ready to continue the chase, but Harley’s eyes blow wide and he throws himself against the door. “No! Don’t go! He’s been shot!”

“Calm down, kid. He’ll be fine,” Rhodey placates, placing a hand on his shoulder, but Harley can tell the man didn’t quite believe the statement either. 

Harley stares at him. Then, Rhodey’s eyebrows furrow as he watches the kid’s fear and uncertainty morph into determination. “And I’ll be fine too. Keep going.” Then with that, he fumbles with the lock behind him, thrown open the car door and bails. He rolls a bit as he skids across the hard ground, knocking the wind clean out of him, and he’s instantly grateful that they had barely hit 35 mph. 

“Kid!” Rhodey hangs out the window, mouth agape, staring straight at him. Harley waves him off with a pained cough and watches as the car disappears over the hill. He rolls slightly as he turns his head to look over at Tony… he wasn’t moving all that much. 

Harley scrambles to his feet, stumbling and wincing the several yards it took to get to Tony. He falls to his knees next to the man, bracing his ungraceful fall against the man’s back as he scrambles to roll his body over. 

“TonyTonyTonyTony,” he stutters, shaking the man violently. “Wake up.”

Harley glances around at the very few people lingering around either side of the street, watching with wide eyes as if they couldn’t quite believe what they had just witnessed. They all looked panicked, but, yet, nobody had offered to help yet.

“Tony,” Harley shook him once more and the man answered him with a pained groan.

“Kid, what the hell?” He rasped. 

Harley released a breath of relief, his tense muscles loosening as he draped himself over the man’s torso. 

“Wha’re you doin’ here?” Tony groaned before he broke out into a nasty coughing fit. Harley helped him sit up, legs outstretched into the street, backside perched up on the curb. 

“I’m helping you.” Harley answered, eyeing the blooming stain of dark blood seeping out from the jacket at the man’s shoulder. Harley quickly tore off his hoodie, then scrambled to peel off the lightweight flannel shirt he was wearing beneath it, leaving him in a plain undershirt.

“You hurt?” Tony groused once he finished coughing. He did a quick glance over Harley and the boy scowled at him.

“I’m fine,” he spat. 

Tony frowned at him and grabbed his face with the hand not belonging to his injured shoulder. He grazed his large thumb over something on Harley’s forehead, and the boy winced, pulling away instantly once he felt the sharp sting and the throb of pain following it. He hadn’t even realized he had bumped his head…. Wow, that hurt. 

“You’re hurt,” Tony growled in irritation, quickly growing cognizant of his surroundings despite the worrying amount of blood he’d already lost. “Why the hell did you think it’d be a good idea to jump out of a moving vehicle?”

“You were hurt,” Harley snapped at him, reaching to try and press his flannel onto the wound of Tony’s shoulder, but the man moved away.

“That’s no excuse. I’m a grown ass man, and I can take care of myself. Now, you’re out in the open and in danger.” He snatched the loose fabric from the kid’s hands and flapped it out so he could grab ahold of one of the sleeves. Harley sat back on his haunches and glowered as he watched the man tear the sleeve of his shirt with his teeth. 

Harley didn’t even know how the dude was functioning. His face was covered in scrapes and scratches, blood was oozing from his mouth and his nose, and it was dripping from his hairline too. Harley had what? A few bruises, and he already felt like shit.

Tony fumbled as he shredded his ruined jacket, then struggled a bit more as he fought to tie the fabric around his arm in a tight knot with the aid of his teeth. 

Harley thought he was going to be sick at the sight of him. Blood seeping from his left side, and his right arm… Two bullets… his fault…

“I’m sorry,” Harley hung his head in shame. He didn’t mean for all this to happen… he had been trying to avoid things like this by running away, but apparently that didn’t help.

“Don’t be sorry, kid. This all comes with the job.” Tony winces again as he presses the remaining fabric of Harley’s shirt to his other wound. By then, a semi large crowd had gathered a few yards away, phones out, cameras flashing. 

“These goddamn nosey people,” Tony grumbled as he struggled to his feet. “Don’t know what privacy means anymore.” A low guttural growl of pain rumbled through his chest and he nearly crumbled to the ground. “Crap. Knees busted…”

Harley quickly wraps a supportive arm around the man’s waist before he topples over, being careful of his injuries as he tries to support at least some of his weight. Tony guides him so their backs are turned to the crowd and he presses a finger to his ear. “Keep on ‘em Rhodes. I either want a name or a head by the end of the day. And send a car for us once you find the time.”

“Who do you think those guys worked for?” Harley questioned as he adjusted his shoulder, so it wasn’t pressing so harshly into the area beneath Tony’s armpit.

“Don’t know,” Tony mutters. “If they’re Hydra or Oscorp I might be able to use ‘em, if not… I just like knowing who takes shots at my people, y’know.” He squeezes Harley’s shoulder gently and together they take a few steps forward so they could take a seat at a nearby bench. Tony collapses onto it heavily, and Harley takes a seat beside him. 

Several minutes pass, the crowd somewhat disperses, and people passing by giving them a few weird looks, but overall, the time spent sitting on that bench was fairly uneventful. 

“I really am sorry,” Tony rasps after a good ten minutes, eyes closed, and head thrown back to rest against the brick wall behind them. “I wasn’t… I wasn’t in the right frame of mind. I-I was desperate for an answer and for some reason the way the clues had all connected had my brain leading it all back to you… you were just… you’re too good to be true kid.” Tony’s head rolls to the side and his eyes open a sliver so he can look at the kid sitting next to him. “Just like you said before… bad people don’t deserve good things. People like me-- like us… we’re broken.” At that statement alone, Harley turns away and fixes his gaze on his lap, kneading his hands together tightly, and Tony pauses to lift his bloody hand and cover them with his larger one. “But sometimes… two broken people can find each other and help make things alright again.”

“You’re just full of cheesy Tumblr quotes aren’t ya?” Harley whispered with a wet laugh.

“Yeah, but I’m okay with it,” Tony grinned at him. “I’m kinda suffering of extreme blood loss right now, so I think I got an excuse to be all mushy gushy, don’t ya think?”

“Yeah, I guess.” 

“Hmm, thought so,” Tony hummed, tilting his head back to its original position and closing his eyes once more. “Anyways… I just wanted you to know that I do trust you… too much actually… and I think that’s why I had thought it was you. It always ends up being the one I least expect… always.” He coughs, loud and wet, grip on Harley’s hand loosening ever so slightly as he whispered under his breath. “Shit, mighta broke a few ribs too.”

Harley untwines his hands and grabs ahold of the older man’s, squeezing tightly. “Yeah… I think I have that problem too.”

Tony’s head snaps up instantly to stare at him in worry. “Your ribs? You said you were--”

Harley laughs, loud and genuine as he rolls his eyes. “No, old man. The other thing.”

“Oh,” Tony whispers, tense muscles loosening as he settles back into the semi-comfortable position from earlier. “I getcha.”

The silence returns, and the world continues spinning. 

Tony finds himself slowly slipping off to sleep and he fights to stay awake. He needed to stay awake in case there was danger; in case he needed to protect Harley… also, just in case he had a concussion too. It would be the absolute worst time to fall into a coma. Too much to do.

He felt Harley shift ever so slightly beside him and he doesn’t think much of it, simply squeezed the boy’s hand a little tighter. 

“You’re gonna be okay, right?” Harley whispered.

Tony hummed. “I’ll be fine kiddo. I’ve survived much worse.”

“You aren’t going to try again, are you?” The voice is so small and vulnerable...and Tony instantly knows what’s implied. He squeezes his eyes shut and pushes away the panic. 

“Not while I still have something to lose.” He whispers softly in answer.

Then Tony felt a small weight fall gently onto his shoulder. A featherlight touch that barely disturbs the injuries a few inches below it. Then he feels a wisp of hair tickle the exposed skin of his neck and he feels warmth seep through his shirt. He rotates his head slightly and opens his eyes to see the kid tentatively leaning against him; his actions unsure and contemplative. 

Tony smiles to himself and squeezes their hands before turning his head even more and pressing his nose into the teens hair, allowing himself to revel in his new, soft pillow.

“You still shouldn’t trust me y’know,” Harley whispers. Tony’s about to object, but the kid’s teasing tone that follows shuts him up. “I tell Pepper  _ everything _ .”

It takes a moment for it to sink in, but then Tony’s belly fills with a joyful mirth and the pain and panic drips away ever so slightly as he allows the low rumble of a laugh to vibrate through his chest. He nuzzles further into the boy’s hair and noses at a pesky hair tickling his chin. “Shoulda known… I knew you two were too chummy.”

Harley giggles and presses ever so slightly closer, dropping his head to rest on the man’s shoulder as he allows his eyes to slip closed. 

“Yeah… I steal the good chocolates in your secret drawer too.”

“Yeah, well, jokes on you. I stole those from Rhodey.”

Harley snorts.

“We’re quite the pair, huh, kid?” 

“Yeah. We make a pretty good team I think.”

“Mhm,” Tony hums. “Even better I bet when your old enough to shoot. You gotta pretty good aim already, but I’ll teach ya all the tricks of the trade; all the Stark secrets… we’ll be unstoppable.”

Harley smiles at the thought. “Just wait till Pete grows up… We could take over the world.”

“Oh yes,” Tony agrees. “With Pepper’s guidance and Morgan’s inevitable stubbornness, this world will bow at our feet… Get some rest now kiddo. I can tell you haven’t slept. I’ll keep the boogie man away.”

“I know,” the boy sighed. “Night Tony.”

“Night kiddo.”

****  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know about you, but I am really really starting to dig Harley and Tony's relationship. It does remind me a lot about teen Peter and Tony's relationship (probably cuz I already write that so much that it sorta rubs off here too), but I try my best to keep it a little different. Sometimes I get the vibe that some people aren't as invested in Harley as they are in Peter, so I apologize for focusing so much on Harley lately (except I kinda don't cuz I love it so much), but his backstory is so fun and his personality is so complicated and interesting to write and also it's easier to integrate him into the whole mob plotline because he's a teenager and knows at least a little bit of what's going on around him.
> 
> Anyways, I apologize for the lack of Pepper and Peter this chapter. I wanted to fit them in, but goodness the chapter was already soooo long. And now that we've got these two's relationship ^^^ on the mend, we can move onto Tony getting Peter and Pepper's forgiveness. So stay tuned for next chapter if you wanna see that I guess. Also, I know I haven't been including Nat a lot and I'm hoping to change that fairly soon. 
> 
> Anywho, I love hearing from you guys. It's my favorite thing. Let me know what you think please, especially about this relationship between Tony and Harley. It really is such a fragile thing and I don't wanna push it or make it seem to OOC, so please call me out if it seems like that at any point. 
> 
> Love y'all to pieces! MWAH! thanks for reading


	24. Chapter 24

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait guys. As you know... life tends to be a pain sometimes. 
> 
> But yeah... this chapter definitely gave me some trouble. It's a long one for sure... but yeah. Hope you like it.

Pepper was wide awake through a majority of the night, cradling a sleeping Peter close to her side as she zoned out, staring through the window across the room at the bright and busy night skyline of New York. Despite her best efforts to take a much-needed rest, all she could think of were the crazy events that went down that day. She could still picture the broken guise Tony wore when Harley stormed from the room and while she retreated with a hysterical Peter in her arms only hours later as well. For a moment there she had felt genuinely worried about his wellbeing, but when Peter seemed to only continue growing more frantic she got distracted and her attention diverted from worrying about Tony to calming her child down. She focused on rocking him through the night, trying desperately to coax him into believing that everything was going to be okay… that Tony would never hurt her or Harley, but no words could comfort Peter’s distressed wails and insistent denials. He remained glued to her side the entire night, hugging her tightly like he was afraid if he let go, she would never return. 

The fact that Peter had jumped to the conclusion he had so quickly, only brought forth reminders of the boy’s past traumas. Pepper hated the idea that her and Tony’s arguments could be paralleled so closely to the night Peter had watched Richard murder his mother in cold blood. It made Pepper’s blood broil and her skin itch with an icy sting as she fought to quell the added abundance of hatred she felt for that man.

Peter thought Tony was going to kill her…

Like his father had killed his mother.

He thought she was in danger.

Like his mother had been in danger.

How was she supposed to fix this mess she’s made?

The instant she thought it, she felt guilt. It was her fault… Tony had only been doing what he thought was necessary to keep her and their family safe, which is his _job_ , and her fraught protests had only seemed to spur Peter’s uncertainty and panic. Tony had made a mistake; a terrible one, but it was part of Pepper’s _job_ to forgive him and help reason with him when he made mistakes. He was a man of honor and pride and justice. He could handle himself fine, but Pepper knew he sometimes tried to carry the weight of the world on his shoulders just so others wouldn’t have to. He carried guilt with him constantly. He was scared. He was confused… and Pepper had shown no mercy to his desperate pleas for comfort and forgiveness for the mistakes he had already punished himself for. 

Rhodey had explained it to her; Tony regretted what he did. He had been overwhelmed by the stress he’d been boxing away, and he lashed out after a poorly convenient trail of proof pointing towards Harley’s doing. He had been acting out of an instinct to _protect_ and _fix…_ and then after he realized his mistake and wallowed in his own self-hatred in the only way he knew how… then he came to _her_ for forgiveness… and she had turned him away.

He was drunk, sure… He had made another mistake. But his drunkenness alone should have been indication enough that he was struggling to stay afloat.

And now that she had time to think back, worry and remorse slowly spread through her, and she couldn’t seem to help it when her traitorous mind wandered into a dark place, embracing a scenario where her husband didn’t come back home.  Pepper pressed a hand to her mouth to hold back a choked sob. She turned her head to press her cheek closer to Peter’s hair and focused on the soft tickle of his brown locks against her sensitive skin.

Tony had been in distress and she turned him away because she was scared and angry. It had been a cowardly move and she hated being a coward. 

So, that night she fell asleep with a mountain of guilt lying on her chest, knowing the next few days were going to be _hard_ and she tried her best not to think about it.

Her stress levels had already spiked into the dangerous no-no zone Tony had been adamantly trying to keep her away from since she’s become pregnant, and she can only hope things wouldn’t continue to worsen as the days continued. Everything that could have possibly gone wrong had already happened. Both she and Tony had been blind to the repercussions of their actions. Trying to start a family in their line of work, in their name, in the world they live in… it’s selfish and irrational and could have disastrous consequences. They had known this… yet she still pushed for that family.

And with children that didn’t even technically belong to them? _How absurd was that?_

In the most lament of terms… they had quite literally kidnapped both Peter and Harley. Was she really that desperate for children? Were her hormones so out of whack that she had to kidnap children that didn’t even belong to her and claim them as her own while her husband beat their real parents to death?

Heck, she shouldn’t need any more convincing that this was all a very messed up situation… a very bad idea… And now her few day’s worth of domesticity had been torn apart and quite literally broke her heart in two. The culmination of the mornings attack, the official defacing of Tony and the company because of his clear affiliation with two missing children, Tony’s accusations against Harley, and Peter’s growing hatred for him should be enough for her to realize that it wasn’t worth it… 

but it was… it really, really was. If there was any possible way to fix it, she’d give up her entire fortune for the chance to live a normal life with her husband, friends, and children out in the country, in a small town, with a cozy home, and a pet dog to tie it all together. She knows she’d miss her life. She’d miss the thrill of manipulation and thievery… but this… she nuzzled her cheek against Peter’s soft hair once more, imagining Tony cuddled up on Peter’s other side, arm slung around her waist, chin propped up on the top of her head, pressed close so Peter was comfortably sandwiched between them as he regaled them both with an exaggerated story about his day… it felt far more important than any stolen art piece she’s ever had. 

The family dynamic she and Tony had formed with the two boys had barely been functioning except for a few days, but it felt so right. Harley was a natural in everything he learned (except for fighting, or so Happy claimed), and he reminded her more of Tony with every passing day: A caring, merciful young man hidden beneath a mask of anger and a need to prove his worth, a strong sense of wit, cockiness, and hard-headedness when the situation called for it… and of course all the times it didn’t… and she sees a lot of Tony in Peter too. The boy had a curiosity to rival anyone’s she’s ever met, and he was sharp as a tack too. He wasn’t tentative to share his opinions, and his straightforward no-nonsense sense of morality was something she had been surprised to see so prominently in a four-year-old child. 

She could even picture Peter growing up in their little world, picking up her and Tony’s mantel alongside Harley and Morgan. She hates to say it or even think about it, but she could already tell Peter would be a natural leader; more so than Harley. She sees too much of herself in Harley for him to grow up and strive for anything more than working behind the scenes. He’s a sneak; always will be, and he’d be perfect to curb Peter’s Tony-like boisterousness and recklessness... 

No wonder it was so easy to slip into the idea that they could have been a real family.

It’s just that everything had been developing at such a quick pace that Pepper had started to really see their future carrying on with those two as part of their family. It felt right, like this is what it was supposed to end up like all along. Heck, she’d already started damage-control by talking to SI’s lawyers all morning trying to coordinate an excuse to explain to the courts why Peter and Harley were and should continue to remain in their care. But then shit had hit the fan and now everything was a mess once more.

She just hoped things hadn’t been ruined beyond repair.

She woke up that morning next to a cranky Peter and sporting a sore back. Then Happy came up for a visit and Peter ended up throwing quite the tantrum after brunch when Happy tried giving him a bath. It would have been amusing probably if she hadn’t already had such a splitting headache at the time.

_She still had the headache._

Pepper was sitting in the Living Room by the time Happy had finished. He carried Peter into the room. The boy’s arms were wound tightly around Happy’s neck and as they got closer Pepper could see the big fat tears rolling down his reddened cheeks.

“He refused to even touch his toys. Think he missed Tony,” Happy answered hoarsely, offering her a cheerless smile as he slowly deposited Peter into her open arms. 

“No I don’!” The boy screamed loudly in protest before devolving into another bout of sobs and wails. “No I don’!”

“My mistake,” Happy sighed, rubbing the boy’s back gently and sharing a meaningful look with Pepper. It was easy to see that, yes, Peter did miss him… very much.

Happy didn’t have a lot time to stick around after that. Pepper had tried convincing him to stay a bit longer, but the panicked look in his eyes and the offhand deflections he made to her inquiries had her suspecting something serious was really going on.

She didn’t pry. She decided that it was best she probably didn’t know so her anxiety wouldn’t spike any further. So, she let him go. But by the time an hour had passed and there had been no word from anyone… she began to grow a bit... _nervous_ didn’t seem like the right word. JARVIS had told her that nobody except a few well-trained soldiers and the usual SI workers were in the Tower. Tony, Harley, Rhodey, Happy, and Natasha were all gone; including Phil and his posse. JARVIS wouldn’t tell her anything else, though, leaving her completely in the dark. 

She refused to let herself panic though. There was no reason for her to panic yet. It was a challenge to stay calm, but after years of doing what she does, she had learned not to just accept things at face value. There was obviously a reasonable explanation for the absence of half the inhabitants of the Tower and she’s sure she will be filled in about the situation once it was necessary.

So, she decided to occupy herself with consoling Peter instead of focusing on things she couldn’t fix. She could fix this… or at least she could try. 

* * *

Tony staggered into the elevator with Harley nudged under his good arm, supporting most of his weight. 

“You good, Boss?” Asher inquires, eyeing his injuries warily as he lingers to hold the elevator doors open. He had just picked them up from the street where Rhodes had told him to meet them and he was both glad to see the kid was okay and mildly disturbed that his Boss looked to be on the brink of keeling over. 

“I’ll be fine. Go ‘way,” Tony grunts. His words were slowly becoming more slurred and it was obvious the blood loss was really starting to get to him. He was quite literally coated in it and if Harley wasn’t already so used to it, he would have probably passed out at the sight. 

He waved the man off and Asher stepped away to allow the doors to close. Tony releases a long sigh and slumps against the cool metal siding of the large box. “JARVIS…” he croaks, eyelids drooping and eyes rolling to the back of his head, “get Bruce. Get... Bruce…”

“Tony? Tony?!” Harley shakes him roughly when he sees his eyes start slipping closed. “Tony no. You can’t sleep, dude. Don’t do that! Wake up-- wake up!” He reaches up to slap at the man’s cheek repeatedly. 

“Kid get your hand away from my face,” Tony warned with a soft grunt. Harley quickly retracts his hand. 

“Okay-okay, just… just don’t pass out till I get you to the Med... bay or whatever the hell you call it. I can’t carry your fat ass all the way there by myself.”

“Nope,” Tony grunts, “we’re goin’ to the penthouse. I’m not gonna lie around where everyone can watch me bleed out. I gotta room upstairs for when stuff like this happens.” Then his nose wrinkles and he twists his neck to narrow his already drooping eyes at the kid. “And… and don’t swear at me... And don’t call me fat either.” He sways just a bit. “Do y’know how hard it is to keep this type of body? Especially at my age? Damn hard is what it is.” The arm around Harley’s shoulders flops around in a vague gesture to his person. Harley rolls his eyes and hikes the man’s arms around his shoulder once more to steady him.

The man is definitely verging on delirious if he wasn’t already there… _and Harley had thought he couldn’t get any more insane after that gag-worthy heart-to-heart while he was bleeding out on the bench._

Before Tony could start spewing any more nonsense, the elevator dings to announce their imminent arrival and Harley tugs him to get him moving. He doesn’t miss Tony’s pained wince with every movement he makes, but together they stagger out into the foyer and Harley only struggles a little with the increasing amounts of weight Tony is pushing onto him. 

“C’mon, old man,” he grunts, “where ’m I taking you?”

Tony’s chin nudges in the direction opposite the entrance to the Living Room and Harley turns to head that way, but they’re interrupted by a familiar voice.

“Tony? Is that you?” 

It was Pepper. 

She rushed into the foyer, brows furrowed in worry and lower lip trembling ever so slightly with a hand extended towards them. She looked absolutely wrecked. “What-what happened?”

Harley’s eyes grow wide in panic. 

“Let’s explain when I’m not about to pass out from blood loss, hm?” Tony suggested with a little bite to his tone. He trudges forward, forcing Harley to follow.

Harley keeps one eye on Pepper. He felt bad… she looked so tired. He took a moment to wonder if Peter was okay and then saw how Pepper looked back towards the Living room while she worried her bottom lip… Peter must be in there. 

“I’m going...I’m going to put Peter down for his nap really quick. I’ll-I’ll be right there, alright Honey.” She reaches out to stroke one of Tony’s blood-coated cheeks softly. Tony leans into the touch with another tired droop of his eyelids. She brushes away some wetness beneath his eye with the pad of her thumb then lets go of him and turns away quickly so she could go take care of Peter.

Tony and Harley just barely make it through the doorway of the private medical room before Bruce is rushing up behind them, medical tools in hand and an uncharacteristic worry in his eyes. The man grabs Tony’s injured arm to places it around his own shoulders to help Harley drag him into the room, but a strangled roar of pain escapes Tony’s mouth. Bruce immediately drops the arm and notices the odd angle the arm is resting at. Tony doesn’t say a word and bites his tongue as he limps his way towards the room. He definitely wasn’t doing too hot.

Harley thinks that it must be the adrenaline wearing off now that he didn’t have to worry about being vulnerable out in the open… he thinks… he’s not a doctor, so who knows. All he knows is that Tony wasn’t near this bad before they got in the car.

“Alright, Tony… just lean back… there you go.” Bruce instructs softly, adjusting his limbs on the bed carefully so he was lying down comfortably. His eyes were closed, and his breath was coming in ragged spurts and Harley could only assume it was because he was in a lot of pain… _a lot_. Because he was Tony Stark; and Tony freaking Stark wasn’t a pussy.

“He’s-he’s gonna be okay, right?” Harley questioned... he didn’t know how many times he’d asked that question already. 

And he hated worrying. It was literally the worst thing ever. This whole worrying thing was definitely a downside to hanging around people he actually liked.

“He’ll be fine. He’s just in a lot of pain right now.” Bruce reaches over to grab scissors so he can cut away Tony’s shirt which hid the two bullet wounds and the pant leg that hid the busted knee. Harley grazed a hand over his own abdomen gently and winced slightly when he felt a sharp sting in his shoulder and then his head, but he ignored the tiny discomforts and focused in on Bruce, who was already getting to work. But Tony’s strong hand stilled the doctor’s and Bruce stopped to stare down at him with an irritated scowl.

“You check on the kid first,” Tony rasped, teeth gritted and bloody as his lips upturned in a pained grin and jutted his chin towards Harley, who instantly cursed for nursing his sores around such an irrationally self-sacrificing man.

_He should know better._

“Tony,” Bruce argued adamantly, “I have to get those bullets out before they get lodged any further. You’ve already lost too much blood--”

Tony’s grip on his hand silences him again, and he settles Bruce with the most menacing wide-eyed glare Harley had ever seen. He could practically see the steam pouring from his nose as he exhaled harshly. Bruce even seemed a bit taken aback by the look and he scuttles back a little way, but he didn’t drop the scissors. 

“Another two minutes won’t kill me… If you lay a hand on me before you check that kid, I will break each of your fingers one at a time. Understand? He’s _hurt_.”

“Tony! Are you kidding me?!” Harley shouts angrily, storming forward so he was standing at the side of the bed. “ _You’re_ hurt. Stop being a self-sacrificing little shit! I’m fine.”

Tony’s gaze skirts over towards him and his wide-eyed glare narrows in reprimand. “Don’t curse at me, kid. You’re on thin ice.” He turns to look back at Bruce and nudges his head ever so slightly towards the kid standing beside him. “Check him.” He had definitely sobered up.

Bruce makes move to approach him and Harley scowls in frustration in a last-ditch attempt to call off this ridiculousness. “I’m telling Pepper on you.”

“Yeah?” Tony coughs roughly, “well I don’t give a shit.”

As if summoned by speaking her name alone, the woman herself storms in with a frantic look in her eyes and a shaky hand pressed against her protruding abdomen. She approaches Tony’s bed without a second glance to Bruce’s hasty and stiff checkup on Harley. 

“Tony, Baby, what happened to you?” She grabbed his hand and petted down his sweat damp hair. Tony’s smile warmed at the sight of her and his eyes slipped closed with a tired hum, leaning into her hand. 

“I love you so much, Pep.” He whispered quietly, turning his head so he could press a quick kiss to her palm. 

She dropped her hand to cup the side of his face and tears fell from her reddened eyes. “I love you too, Tony...” she sniffles and chuckles under her breath, “why do you have to do this to yourself, hm? I’m starting to think you’re the one that needs to be locked up in this Tower.”

A goofy grin splits across his face. “You’d have to tie me down, Love.”

“I believe that could be arranged Mr. Stark… I know some people.”

At that moment, Bruce rushes back towards the bed, hair slightly rumpled and expression rattled. “I-I checked out the boy, Tony. He seems fine. Slight concussion, but that’ll go away fairly soon all on its own. There’s nothing-”

“Did you check his ribs,” Tony coughed, goofy grin replaced once more with his serious frown. “They already took some damage before. Just got the all clear yesterday…but they might still be weak. You checked, right? They mighta gotten hurt again when he fell.”

“I’m sure he’s fine Tony,” Bruce assured. Tony immediately hissed at him.

“He jumped out of a moving vehicle Banner!” Pepper gasped. “Don’t tell me he’s fine. Check him right.”

“You did what?!” Pepper immediately spun on her heel to settle her panicked eyes on the sheepish child standing idly behind her. 

“I-I-- eep.” Harley was cut off when Bruce nearly barreled into him with wandering hands trailing down his sides and stomach. 

“Tell me if something hurts.”

Nothing hurts! He knows he’s fine. He’s much more worried about Tony's obviously worsening condition, and Bruce’s slight panic wasn’t helping him stay calm at all. He can see Tony watching Bruce work to make sure he didn’t skimp out on anything as he examined Harley. 

Bruce finishes quickly and with Tony’s short nod of approval the man moves back towards the bedside to get his tools ready and to start setting up the IV line. Tony grabs for Pepper’s hand and he looks up at her.

“Is Pete doin’ okay?”

Pepper squeezes his hand gently. “He’s perfectly healthy,” she smiles. 

Tony chuckles hoarsely. “Hmm, interesting qualifier you chose there, Honey.”

Pepper offers him a weak smile and shrugs her shoulders slightly. “Everything will turn out fine I’m sure. Now, I’m going to get Harley out of here, okay? I’m going to go ahead and order him some clothes and furniture online and once you’re getting better, I expect you to get around to clearing out that office of yours that you never use. I’m sure he doesn’t want to be sharing rooms with Peter for any longer than he has to. We-We also need to talk together to the legal team so we can set up some sort of legitimate guardianship. Then we’ll start talking about schools and-and I’ve been thinking about it and I think it’d be a good idea if we started looking into some child therapist. So--”

“Honey,” Tony interrupted with a loving smile, “you’re rambling. I’ll be fine; everything will be fine. Go on. This won’t be pretty; you won’t be missing a thing.”

So, Pepper leaves, grabbing ahold of Harley’s hand and dragging the reluctant boy out of the sterilized room.  

Pepper let’s go of his hand as soon as they step into the large living room. It still looked pretty jacked up from the attack, but most of the debris had been cleared out and the only remnant of that morning were several holes pierced in the glass windows. Other than that, things looked perfectly normal. He could see the mess of blocks on the carpet in front of the TV and he smiles. He sees the crayons and paper on the coffee table and the Dr. Seuss books stacked next to it… it was nice to be in this environment again. One he wishes will become the familiar norm to him.

Pepper silently takes a seat on the couch and begins pulling clothes out of the wide white hamper sitting near her feet. She pulls out a pair of onesie pajamas and gently folds it, blinking her eyes rapidly as she tried to concentrate on making the proper folds. She’d been folding and refolding laundry all day to just give her _something_ to do. And the fact that she was folding this same onesie again for the fifth time… it just reminded her of everything she’d been stressing about; everything was just going so wrong,

“Um… Pep?” Harley asks tentatively. “You okay?”

Pepper huffs and slaps the garment in her hands down onto her lap. She snaps her head up to look at Harley and purses her lips. “No, Harley. I am not okay,” she replies tersely. “My husband is hurt. That is not okay. Do you want to explain to me what happened?” Her tone is accusing, and her gaze is sharp when it settles on him. 

Harley pales… he had yet to meet a side of Pepper that wasn’t supportive and sweet and completely and utterly motherly. This Pepper was angry and hurt and scared. He feels his fingers tremble minutely at his side and he curls his blood coated hand around the sleeve of his hoodie… Pepper was going to be so mad at him. He ran away and then Tony got hurt trying to protect him… it was his fault. 

His chin dropped to his chest as he built up the courage to admit what he had done. He’s sure she already knew. Someone had to have told her by now. He hoped she would forgive him; he hoped she would understand so he wouldn’t have to go back to sleeping in that sad little room downstairs. “I-It’s my fault… I’m sorry…”

Pepper’s steely gaze doesn’t soften. “Tell me what happened Harley.”

There was no coaxing, no soft reassurance to urge him to speak the truth. No. This was a demand… and he couldn’t help but quake under her gaze. This was worse than confronting Tony. 

“I-I ran away an-and Tony came-”

“YOU WHAT?!”

Harley’s eyes bugged out in panic… she didn’t know…

“Harley Ben Keener.” Her steely eyes took a familiar form… a look Harley had seen befall across his mother’s face many, many times. “Come here _right now_.”

He doesn’t want to, but there was no way he’s going to _not_ listen to her. So, he takes another step toward her… then, before he can react, her hand is snapping out to grab ahold of his right ear and giving it a swift tug, so his face is in line with hers. She looks really, really pissed.

“You are _grounded_. Do you hear me? You know never to leave this Tower without Tony’s okay and an escort. It is too dangerous, and you know better than that. I can’t believe you! There is no excuse.”

Harley’s head bobs up and down quickly. “Yes ma’am I understand… I-I was just bein’ a baby… I promise not to do it again.”

As those words slowly sank in, Pepper’s eyes finally began to soften. She releases her grip on his ear and gently pulls on his arm, so he was seated on the couch beside her. She slowly wrapped her arms around him, and he sunk into the embrace, shoulders quivering from the warm sensation of her familiar warm hug. Tears pricked at his eyes, but he refused to let them fall, and he melted into her, arms wrapping around her round waist to return the hug. It had barely been two days, but he missed this so much. It made his skin tingle and burn, and he felt _okay_ again. It was like when he used to hug his mother. She had been just as good at giving hugs, but he hadn’t appreciated it… he never genuinely appreciated the love and affection his mother showed him until he didn’t have it anymore. And he swears he’s never going to take advantage of it ever again.

“Tell me what happened, Honey.” He felt Pepper’s cheek press against the top of his head, and he doesn’t know _why_ , but everything came spilling out. He told her _everything_. He told her about his mother; about talking to Rhodey; about that feeling of Deja vu deep in his stomach that just wouldn’t go away. He told her he ran because he was scared of hurting her and Peter; of being scared of losing another family. He had been scared of disappointing Tony. He told her how he plotted his escape, stole some cash, and taxied his way across New York. Then he told her how Tony came… how he apologized and tried to convince him to come back… how he had ended up getting shot while protecting him and how much guilt he felt for putting Tony in danger because of another one of his stupid mistakes. 

Pepper just listened, humming in acknowledgment where it was appropriate and running her long, dainty fingers through the knots in his curly hair. He could tell she wasn’t all that fond of finding out Tony hadn’t dragged him straight back to the Tower, and instead let him tag along on a car chase, by the way her fingers tightened around tufts of his hair. But otherwise, she said nothing and just let him talk. 

He didn’t know how long he talked, but it must have been a while because by the time he finished his mouth was dry, his throat hurt, and he was so, so tired. Pepper slowly rearranged him, moving his head so it rested against her collar bone, and gestured for him to lift his legs across her lap. He hesitated a bit, but Pepper simply looped a couple fingers beneath the cuff of his jeans and guided them across her lap. One arm went around his shoulders and the other draped across his knees… and she rocked him. 

The intimate hold shocked him for a moment, but the comforting back and forth motion, the sweet hum of her voice, and the soft tickling of her hair against his cheek had him collapsing into her. “I’m so sorry,” he whispered softly. 

“Don’t be sorry,” Pepper hummed. “... but you’re still grounded.”

Harley laughed at that and Pepper chuckled along with him. “From what? It’s not like I was allowed to leave before anyway.”

Pepper flicked his ear for his snark but answered him anyways. “Tony and I had been talking about getting you a phone and a laptop for school… so, I’ll order them, and you won’t be allowed to use them for two weeks, understand?” 

Harley simply nodded, squeezing his eyes shut to stave off the tears again. He-he was being grounded… she cared… and that thought itself had him quaking in her arms. It was such an overwhelming revelation which he’d been obliviously clinging to since the day he met her. 

”I-I’m gonna go to school again?” He hadn’t been to school in a long time. 

Pepper’s hand lifted to card through his hair again. “Tony and I were discussing it before all the craziness happened. We thought it’d be good to help you get out of the Tower. There’s still a lot that needs to be done before you can leave and be safe, but I think it would be good for you. We’ll talk about options a bit more with Tony when he gets to feeling better. Does that sound like something you’d like?”

“Yeah,” Harley rasped quietly. “Yeah, it really does.”

“Good. So, I’m going to assume you and Tony have hashed out your differences?”

“I think so. I-I’m not sure… but I think we’re pretty even… y’know… me gettin’ him shot an all.” He slowly begins to pull away.  Um… how’s Peter?”

Pepper gently pulls away from the embrace as well and Harley drops his feet from her lap. “Not very great… a few things happened when you weren’t here. I’m not so sure how things he’ll be seeing Tony again.”

“Oh,” Harley scoots away a few inches and gazes down at his lap. Pepper nods as if she agreed with him and went back to folding the clothes. “Um, do you think I can talk to him about it? I-I think I might be able to help.”

Pepper slowly turned to look up at him and forced a small smile onto her face. She looked drained and tired. Then she looked over at the clock and sighed. “That would be great. I need to get him up from his nap anyway. Why don’t you go wake him up? I’m sure he’ll be so happy to see you.”

* * *

Harley shakes Peter’s shoulder gently. “Pete. Hey Peter. Time to get up Buddy.”

Peter stirs beneath the large blue comforter and Harley watches as the boy slowly blinks his eyes open and lazily rolls his head to the side to look at him. Harley finds himself grinning when Peter’s eyes meet his and the younger boy instantly jumps from the bed. 

“Ha’ley!” 

“Hey Pe--oomph!” Peter throws himself off the bed, straight into Harley’s arms. The boy instantly starts sobbing.

“You okay! I thought somethin’ bad happent to you!” 

Harley frowned, feeling the guilt ride over him again. If Tony hadn’t come for him… Peter… he would have been abandoning Peter. “I’m fine, Buddy. I just needed some time to cool off, y’know?”

Peter nods, but Harley’s pretty sure the boy wasn’t listening to him. He felt a face press into his neck and arms fall over his shoulders as the boy hugged him tightly. He rubs his hand down Peter’s back to reassure him too. He wasn’t sure how to broach whatever it was Pepper had hinted at, and he felt that whatever it was had upset Peter a lot… because he’d only been gone for a couple days. Peter shouldn’t be so inconsolable if his absence was the only thing bothering him.

“Pete? What’s really bothering you Li’l Bub?” 

Peter chokes on a loud sob and shakes his head violently. “No!”

Harley winces. Not the answer he was hoping for. “C’mon,” he coaxes, “what’s wrong? Are you mad at Tony?” He could remember Peter screaming at Tony from Rhodey’s arms to leave him alone… he also remembered Rhodey mentioning to Happy the events leading up to Tony’s actions that morning. Harley hoped that everything hadn’t gone to shit just because of him. If Peter loses trust in Tony because of him… he wouldn’t forgive himself for that. Peter loved Tony. Tony was supposed to be Peter’s second shot at a dad…

Peter nods solemnly against him and Harley’s face falls into a stony frown.

“You shouldn’t be mad at him about what he did to me Peter.” His voice is sterner than he meant it to be. “He was only trying to protect you.”

“Nuh-uh!” Peter protested instantly, pulling away from his burrow against the older boy’s shoulder to fix him with a menacing glare. “He was so mean to you. You were scared. You said Daddy’s don’t make their babies scared.”

“I’m not his baby Peter,” Harley explained gently. “You are. He has to protect you before he protects me. That’s his job as your dad.”

Peter’s lip trembled. “You-you mean you’re not my brother no more?” Before Harley could answer, Peter was crying again. “But I liked havin’ a brot’er so much!” 

“No, no, no,” Harley panicked a bit, “that’s not what I meant Pete. I just meant… I just mean… he thought I did something that coulda hurt you and Pepper a lot… and he got really mad at me.”

“But you didn’t!” Peter interjected sternly.

“You’re right. I didn’t.” Harley nodded his head solemnly and slowly placed Peter back on his bed. “But if I had… if I had done what Tony thought I did, don’t you think it would be good that Tony’d get mad for me doing something that would have hurt you.”

Peter sniffled and stared at Harley through teary eyes. He ran his sleeve beneath his nose, and it wrinkled cutely. “Yeah, I guess.”

“See. Tony was just doing his job which is making sure you’re safe. No harm; no foul.” 

“But he s’pposed to make you safe too Ha’ley.”

Harley grimaced and decided to bite the bullet. Even despite all his protests, Tony had time and time again insisted that Harley was still _a child_ and needed to be _protected_. Harley wanted to roll his eyes just thinking about it.... “That’s true, but I’m a bit older than you Pete. And-and Tony’s not my Dad like he is yours.”

Peter’s head cocked to the side again cutely. “I confused. So, you ain’t my brother?”

Harley struggled to find a proper way of explaining the uber complicated situation to a traumatized four-year-old. “Well… we can still be brothers, but Tony and Pepper just aren’t my Mom and Dad like they’re yours.”

“So, who’re your Mommy and Daddy then?” Peter questioned. The number of tears seemed to be deteriorating thanks to the distraction.

“Don’t got any.”

Peter frowned in consternation. “But you gotta have a Mommy and Daddy. Everyone’s got’em.”

“Not me.”

There was a short lull in conversation as Peter slowly processed what Harley was saying. Apparently, he still wasn’t completely satisfied with the arguments Harley was raising. “But they act it,” Peter continued to argue. 

“Yes, but they just aren’t. It’s complicated.” Harley snapped. He didn’t like discussing it… as much as he’d love to have a proper family again… as much as Pepper seemed to want him to be a part of their family… as much as he _wants_ to be a part of their family… he knows things will run more smoothly if he just observed from the sidelines; perhaps dipping his toe in here and there for an occasional hug or pep talk. But other than that, he really doesn’t need parents. As much as he’d love to have some, it was too ambitious… too easy to walk away heartbroken. Besides, he likes things the way they are.

“So, you don’t want them to be your Mommy and Daddy? Is that it?”

“No- that’s not- I don--,” he sighs and breaths out a humorless chuckle. “It’s just complicated Pete. And the last thing I tried explaining something complicated to you, you went off and blabbed to Tony.”

Peter giggled and leaned forward to wrap his arms around the older boy’s neck once more. “Did not.”

Harley rolled his eyes and didn’t bother arguing. He stood, lifting Peter with him and started moving towards the door, but Peter’s soft whisper stopped him. “Harley? What if… what if Tony tried hurtin’ Mama? Hurted her like my old Daddy… that’s bad, right?”

“Yeah,” Harley answered simply. He wasn’t sure where the question had come from. It sounded outlandish and crazy to even think Tony would ever try to lay a hand on Pepper. The woman would kill him no doubt. And if she couldn’t, he’s sure both Happy and Rhodey wouldn’t mind taking a jab at him either. But he supposed Peter was just trying to cover all his bases… which was understandable.

Though, the way Peter’s earlier smile fell into a heavy frown, as if finally accepting a heavy burden, and a few more tears leak from his eyes, Harley feels there’s much more to be said. But that’s not his place, though. He’s done his part. The rest is up to Pepper… and hopefully Tony.

“Wanna go out and see PepPep? Maybe we can convince her to watch a movie with us. Whatcha think?”

Peter nodded rapidly. He pulled his face from Harley’s neck and wiped roughly at the remaining tears falling from his eyes. 

* * *

Bruce doesn’t wander out from the personal recovery room until way into the evening. Pepper had coaxed both the boys into eating dinner; pushing extra onto Harley's plate since he had skipped out on breakfast and lunch. They ate their dinner together in the Living Room while they watched some Wheel of Fortune and Jeopardy and by the time it was over it was nearing Peter’s bedtime.

Pepper had half a mind to put him to bed and wait to have him visit Tony until morning. He hadn't gone out of his way to express his interest in visiting Tony even despite Harley’s exciting rendition of the man’s heroic deeds in an effort to convince the boy. But Peter had simply shrugged and went back to fingering the chicken strips on his plate. She refrained from telling him that Tony was hurt because she wasn’t sure how he would react, and she had had quite enough of the screaming for one day. She knew he'd be upset if she told him because it was obvious Peter missed Tony and wanted to see him. The boy still cared deeply for him, but he refused to acknowledge it. 

She’d only had Peter for a few weeks, but it was so easy to read what he wanted… and she knew why he was putting up such a fight. He was scared… and the thought of Peter being scared of Tony made her want to ball up her fists and scream. 

So, when Bruce crept out of the room while Harley was helping Peter get dressed and ready for bed, Pepper still wasn’t quite sure what she should do.

“Is he okay?” 

Bruce nodded and gave her a tired smile. “He’ll be fine, like he always is. He took quite a beating this time, though. I told him to take it easy for the next week or so, but I highly doubt he’ll stick to it for more than a day.”

Pepper nodded, forcing herself to take several deep breaths… everything was okay. “List all the injuries. I don’t want any skimping. Goodness knows Tony won’t tell me everything if I ask.”

Bruce chuckled under his breath at that. “Two bullet wounds. Abdomen and shoulder. The shoulder wound was just centimeters away from nicking a major artery. That's why there had been so much bleeding, but he lucked out on that one. That same shoulder was also dislocated; I’m assuming he landed on it when he hit the ground which didn’t help with the bleeding from the gunshot wound. After the adrenaline wore off, I’m surprised he hadn’t passed out; that bullet ended up right near his collarbone. He also had a severe patella dislocation in the left knee. I’d be surprised if if didn’t take longer than a month before he’ll be able to walk right again. He’ll have to use a cane for a while, which he'll hate. Then there was a pretty nasty concussion he had there for a while, but he should be fine by now," Bruce rubbed his hands along his arms then stuffed them in his pockets. "There were also three broken ribs from his fall. Two on the right; one on the left; nothing he hasn’t dealt with before. He has very bad scrapes and bruises all across his torso. And I disinfected and rewrapped his hand from his injury this morning--” 

Pepper interrupted him with a quiet voice and a strong glare. Tony had gotten hurt before he went off gallivanting through New York. “What injury?”

Bruce looked surprised. He blinked a couple times and his mouth opened slightly to release a pitiful squeak before he started sputtering nervously. “I-I-I um thought you knew… he um… he cut up his hand this morning while he was recovering from his hangover.”

Pepper nodded slowly. She knew there was more to it than Bruce was letting on, but she was anxious to see Tony and the longer she questioned him the less time she’d have alone with her husband. “Thank you so much Bruce. Do you mind coming back up in the morning to check on him?”

Bruce smiled, sweet and warm. “I was planning on it Pepper. I was hoping to check up on you too in the morning. You’ve been under a lot of stress and I want to make sure that both you and Morgan are doing okay.”

Pepper placed her hand on her stomach and smiled, feeling a heavy weight lift from her shoulders as Bruce left. She turned to glance down the hall. She guessed she had about 5 minutes alone with Tony before the boys came looking for her again, so she hurried her way into the room. 

She opened the door quietly and glanced at the man sitting upright in the fancy bed. His bloody dress shirt had been cut away. Most of his torso and right shoulder were wrapped in a tight white gauze. Several of the scars he’s accumulated over the years were visible along his bare upper chest and arms and the signature scar that always adorned his left cheek was more prominent than ever, decorated in small cuts to accentuate the swollen redness. It was a sad sight that Pepper had grown used to… and no matter how many times joked about his “battle scars” she still hated them. 

Tony looks over at her when she entered, and his face immediately lights up in a tired smile. He was probably still a little high from the pain meds… but Tony's always handled the effects of drugs pretty well, so she couldn’t be so sure.

“Pepper,” he hums, a wide grin growing across his face as his eyes blink wearily.

Pepper tries her best not to burst into tears at the sight of him… she was used to this… _why was she used to this?_ She shouldn’t be used to seeing the love of her life beaten and battered in his hospital bed with gauze wrapped around him and scars littering his body. 

“Oh Honey,” she croaked, rushing towards the bed, hand outstretched and ready to stroke the side of his face. 

She bends down to kiss him softly on the lips and he happily returned it. He grins into it and Pepper slowly begins to move away, but his wrapped hand is quick to lift to the back of her neck and pull her back down to prolong the contact between them. “I’m sorry,” he whispers into the kiss, hand cupping her neck, fingers creeping into her hair and thumb stroking the strip of skin right in front of her ear. “I love you. I messed up--”

That’s when Pepper finally breaks. It’s a tight sob that escapes through her mouth, short spurt of air relieving a bit of the pressure that had built in her throat. It’s loud and wet and terrible and it immediately breaks the kiss. 

“Hey, what’s wrong?” Tony immediately questions, lifting his injured arm to cup the other side of her face. “Look‘it me.”

She does. She stares at him, tears pouring from her eyes and quivered breaths pushing past her lips. She’s so happy to see him and she can’t even explain why. But she’s so sad to see him too and the thought of him dying or getting arrested or never coming home was just too much. She had sat at home all day, worrying and wondering if he was okay, if he was going to call, if something had happened. She’d been worried sick; tempted to give into the thought of him never coming back.

She hated how soft she’s gotten. She hates that one man and a swollen belly could change her outlook on life so drastically. She remembered back when she had no one to worry for: no one to care for besides herself. It was a less complicated time. A time where she wasn't constantly worried sick, folding laundry, and rushing to the bathroom every half hour. It was harder, but she doesn’t think she'd trade it for anything.

“What’s wrong Baby?” Tony’s eyes are warm and soft as they stare up at her. It’s a look that isn’t foreign to her, but it is rare, and she savors it. Tony wasn’t always the best at sharing affection and expressing his feelings, but she wasn’t either… they were both getting much better at it, but the sight of him willingly being so open and vulnerable with her when his entire livelihood forced the opposite… it gave her chills.

“I just love you so much. I’m sorry about what happened last night… it’s my fault. I shouldn’t have gotten so mad at you--” 

“Shh-shh-shh,” Tony shushes her, pulling her down to rest her forehead against his and brush a quick kiss to her quivering lips. “Shhhh. Don’t do that.”

Pepper shifts to nuzzle the side of his face, nose into his hair, cheek to cheek as she revels in the warmth of his skin and the lack of dried blood coating it. "It-it just wasn’t fair to you… I'm the one that got mad and you came out looking like the bad guy. You just wanted help, I'm sorry--"

"Shhh," Tony shushed once more, closing his eyes, and stroking her cheek with the back of his hand. "It’s not your fault."

They stay like that for a few minutes before Pepper straightens back up and takes a deep breath. Tony’s still smiling at her and she lifts a hand to brush through his hair. Tony’s hand lifts as well, and he presses his palm to her stomach.

“Anything on the bastards who shot me?” He asks casually, rubbing small circles along the thin fabric of her shirt.

Pepper hums and shakes her head, lifting her other hand to wipe at her cheeks. “Nothing from Jimmy yet. I’m not even sure if he’s back from his little manhunt...” There was something else in her eyes. A familiar _“you’d be in trouble if I hadn’t been worried shitless all day”_ look. A startling contrast to the distress from earlier.

Tony’s still mystified by her ability to mask her emotions so easily when she feels the need to.

Tony looked up at her suspiciously and quirked a brow. “The kid tattled on me, huh?”

“Yep,” Pepper teased, “he told me all your dirty little secrets Anthony.”

The moment is broken by a loud screech. “Mama No!” 

Both turn their heads to glance towards the door where Harley stood with Peter squirming violently in his arms.

“Whoa, Pete,” Harley placates, struggling to keep a safe hold of the wriggling child. He eventually lowers him to the ground and Peter immediately sprints to Pepper’s side, flinging himself so his arms can wrap around both her legs. He hugs her tightly and looks at Tony. It’s not so much a glare as it is a wide-eyed, crazed stare.

Pepper sighs and gently combs her hand through Peter’s hair. “Pete, Baby…” she pauses and purses her lips. She hates that she has to explain this to their child. “Tony’s not going to hurt me. He was never going to hurt me, okay?”

Peter doesn’t seem to buy it. He doesn’t move an inch, and Pepper can see Tony’s happy grin from earlier fall into the usual guilty grimace as he looks down at Peter. “Hey Bug,” he drawls softly, voice hoarse with pent up emotion and disuse.

Peter doesn’t grace him with a response. He, instead, turns his face to hide against Pepper’s legs shyly.

Harley senses the heavy tension in the room. Usually he’d go ahead and skedaddle to escape the awkwardness, but… for some reason he felt that he needed to help fix this. Tony’s already done so much for both him and Peter and the way the man looked when Peter barely even addressed him made his gut twist in an uncomfortable knot. 

Peter looked up to him, right? Maybe he could help… start paying back the debt he owed to both Tony and Pepper for being so kind to him despite how much of a pain in the ass he’s been.

“Hey, Tony…” he starts slowly, making his way further into the room. “You dyin’ yet?”

“Not quite,” Tony answers with a soft chuckle, reluctantly turning his attention away from Peter. He’s laid back against the pillows of his bed, looking tired and old and Harley can’t help but notice the impressive number of scars all over him. “I’m gettin’ there I think though.”

A humorous grin grows its way across Harley’s face, and he has to admit that smiling felt kinda nice nowadays. He comes closer to the bed, casting a couple looks in Peter’s direction to try and capture his attention. He sees the boy glance up at him and Harley immediately takes action. He releases a shaky sigh and settles Tony with a determined nod of his head, vaguely glancing back at Peter one more time as he takes the last couple steps forward to wrap his arms around Tony’s shoulders.

It’s awkward. Very awkward. He doesn’t understand why it’s so awkward since he’s pretty sure Tony and him were pretty tight now… it just felt kinda weird to whimsically initiate physical contact when he wasn’t in any emotional distress and Tony wasn’t suffering from either exhaustion, stress, or extreme blood loss. Basically… it wasn’t an extenuating circumstance that had reached its peak of panic and desperation.

Apparently, he wasn’t the only one finding the situation a bit weird. Tony seemed taken aback by the sudden display of affection too. His good arm jerks and he slowly raises it in a staticky up and down motion as if he’s unsure if he should return the hug or not. He settles with a few awkward pats on his back and then Harley’s pulling away, cursing himself for being so damn clingy and babyish… but it was necessary. He pulls away and glances down at Peter to gauge the reaction. He had a feeling Peter just needed a bit of a push. 

“Do you wanna give Tony a hug too Peter? Hugs help him get better faster.”

Peter stares at him with wide eyes, blinking rapidly as he looks between Harley and Tony multiple times before glancing up at Pepper. Pepper smiles down at him too, gently prying him away from her so she could step forward and give Tony a hug too, along with a kiss to the cheek.

Tony was ready for that one and he quickly wrapped his arms around Pepper in response.

Pepper returns to Peter's side and places a comforting hand on top of his head. Peter lifts a hand to push two of his fingers into his mouth. He looks worried and anxious and for a second Harley thinks he might burst into tears again, but then he looks from Tony then back to Harley and nods his head slowly, lifting his arms towards Harley so he could be lifted.

Harley grins triumphantly and slowly lifts Peter onto the bed beside Tony’s legs. Peter sits back on his haunches there for a moment, staring at Tony and gnawing on the two fingers he had wedged in his mouth. It’s easy to tell that Peter wants to give in… he just seemed to be acting shy. Harley had never seen him shy before and it almost made him laugh. Instead, Harley urges Peter forward with a gentle nudge to his lower back. 

“Be careful Honey,” Pepper instructs the younger boy slowly as Peter begins making his way forward, “Tony’s really hurt, so we need to be gentle, alright?”

Tony’s smile is wide as he watches Peter slowly crawl his way towards him. He moves his arm from his side to invite the kid closer. “Don’t be silly. The kid can tackle me an’ I won’t care.”

Peter pauses, lower lip beginning to quiver slowly as he stares at the battered form of the man lying in front of him. He scoots forward just a bit more before immediately falling back on his haunches once more and lifting his fisted hand wipe away a couple tears. “You-you hurt.” He points towards the gnarly scars along his chest and the wrappings around his shoulder and torso. Tony glances down and cocks his head to the side slightly before lifting it to offer Peter a comforting smile.

“Ah, it’s not that bad, kiddie. Just a few scratches, y’know.”

Peter nods slowly, and it seems like it took forever, but eventually he’s close enough to Tony to gently wrap his arms around his neck in a short hug. As soon as Tony’s arm wraps around him in return, Peter’s jolting away with a distressed cry. He holds his hands out to Pepper, making intensive grabby hands as he slowly devolves into another panicked breakdown. 

Pepper slowly lifts him away from the bed and moves backwards to take a seat with him in one of the chairs against the wall, softly hushing him as she settles him comfortably in her lap. Harley tingles with the intent to jump in and assist, but he knows he won’t be any help, so he turns to look at Tony instead. The man looks steely and tense. His gaze dropped to the white sheet covering his legs, and he gripped the edges of the fabric. Harley knew he was upset. He may not cry, or pout, or mope like others, but he was still upset.

Harley pulled a chair up to the side of the bed. When he sat down Tony looked up at him and cocked him a smirk to mask the hurt. Harley returned it with a pitying smile.

“He’ll come around,” Harley said in a low voice, nodding his head firmly. “I don’t know exactly what went down, but… he’s four.... He’ll get over it I’m sure.”

Tony’s smirk morphs into a grateful smile and he lifts his hand, so his forearm is raised, propping his elbow on the bed. Harley leans forward to clasp hands and Tony squeezes his in a quiet thank you before they both let go and drift into a heavy silence. 

Soon, Peter’s cries peter out and the room is quiet. Harley twists around to see Pepper rocking him from side to side in her chair, looking tired and sad. When they meet eyes, Pepper smiles at him and shift just a bit, but it doesn't reach her eyes like it typically does.

“Harley, would you mind putting him to bed please? And why don’t you get yourself a shower while you’re at it, hm? Start getting ready for bed too.”

Harley nods his head with a quick “yes ma’am” and approaches her, ready to take Peter. Thankfully, Peter goes with him without much protest, but by the time they reach the door to exit the room, Peter’s struggling in his arms. 

“Mama?” He squeaks pitifully, arms extended over Harleys shoulder towards Pepper. ‘You comin’?”

“No Baby,” Pepper answers slowly, standing from her chair to grab onto Peter’s tiny hand. “I’m going to stay here with Tony tonight.”

Peter absorbs her words and turns his head to look at Tony. He turns back to Pepper, looking distraught and panicked. “No. I stay wit’ you.” He reaches for her again, and Harley almost tips backwards when Peter tries vaulting over his shoulder.

“You need to go to sleep Baby.”

“I stay wit’ you!” Peter argues adamantly. Harley’s sure the boy would have stomped his foot if he were on the ground.

Pepper didn’t seem to be in much of a mood to be arguing. So, she sighed and gave into Peter’s demands, taking him back in her arms and returning to her seat. 

Harley stood awkwardly near the door, shuffling back and forth. He could see Tony looking at him from beneath heavy eyelids, but the man didn’t say anything… so Harley gulped and twiddled his thumbs to dispel some of his nervous energy. He didn’t want to cross a line.

“Um…” Pepper immediately looks up at him once he spoke. “Can I stay for a bit too?”

Her brows furrow in that motherly reprimand-y way again. “Honey, you must be exhausted. Don’t you wanna clean up and go to bed.”

She’s right. Harley really did feel tired. That ten-minute snooze on Tony’s shoulder hadn’t done him much good and he felt bone dead tired… but for some reason, the idea of leaving this room just didn’t feel right. 

“I just… I’d just like to stay is all.”

Before Pepper could continue to protest, Tony interrupts her with a groan as he shifts in his bed, rustling the sheets. His next words come out in a forced sigh. “Let ‘im stay if he wants, Pep. He’ll get some sleep when he passes out from exhaustion.”

So, Harley stays. He takes his seat once more at the chair he’d pulled up beside Tony’s bed. Tony winks at him as he settles back into a comfortable position. Harley smiles back. 

An hour in and Harley has his head pillowed on his crossed arms which rest on the bed beside Tony’s legs. Pepper’s still humming some sort of lullaby for Peter and every time she tries to stop Peter whines loudly in protest. In all honesty, Harley thinks if she continues any longer, she’ll be putting him to sleep before Peter.

A big yawn ends up waking him up though and he lifts his head and raises his arm to stretch his sore shoulders. 

“You good, kid?” Tony asks with a hoarse whisper. Harley looks at him and nods slowly as a smaller yawn breaks free. He honestly has no idea how Tony is still awake. He looked exhausted, but for some reason he’s obviously fighting sleep and Harley didn't understand why.

“You can rest y’know,” Harley murmurs, pillowing his head on his arms once more, resting his cheek on his forearm so he could look at Tony. “You look pretty tired.”

Tony hums in agreement. “I’m exhausted.”

Harley frowns. “Then why you still awake?”

He sees the man’s gaze flicker towards Pepper and Peter across the room, but Harley still doesn’t understand. “I’m waitin’ for that rascal to fall asleep first.”

Harley thinks he may have hit his head a bit harder than Bruce might have thought, but he leaves it be and shrugs his shoulders, closing his eyes as he zeroes in on the sound of Pepper’s melodious hums and the quiet beep, beep, beep of the wireless heart monitor. 

He doesn’t know at what point he fell asleep.

* * *

Tony’s still awake a half hour later, but he could feel the fight for sleep slowly dragging him down. He had nothing but his own thoughts to stimulate his mind, which didn't seem to be enough. He glanced down towards his legs to see Harley conked out in a deep sleep and he rolls his eyes with a tight smile. Then he turns to look at Pepper; the love of his life. She looked so tired as she slowly rocked her body back and forth. She had stopped humming about five minutes ago which must mean Peter had finally slipped off to sleep.

“He sleepin’?” Tony croaked softly.

Pepper startles just a bit at his voice and she lifts her head to look at him. Then she smiles and cranes her neck back to try and get a look at Peter’s face then nods.

Tony’s arm was heavy and sore, but he outstretched it anyway and wiggled his fingers. He had an itch that needed to be scratched and he didn't know why, but he just really, _really_ wanted a hug from Peter. “Give’m here.”

Pepper hesitates and casts him a wary look. “I don’t know if that’s such a good idea Tony. What if he wakes up?”

“Then he wakes up,” Tony answers simply. “Now bring him here.” 

Pepper stands slowly and approaches the bed, not exactly in the mood to argue with the man. She took slow steps to avoid jostling the boy. Goodness knows she didn’t want him to wake up and start screaming again. 

Tony must have saw the look on her face and a smug grin split across his face. "Y'know… once Morgan's born there's gonna be even more screaming."

Pepper rolls her eyes at him and gently lowers Peter so his bum rested on the edge of the bed. Tony reached out to steady him as Pepper slowly detached her shirt and hair from Peter's tight grip. Peter stirred, eyes blinking open blearily, and he whined. 

"Mama?"

Tony curses, grip on the back of Peter's shirt tightening ever so slightly. But Pepper takes advantage of Peter's drowsiness and nudges him into Tony's arms. 

"Mama's coming back soon sweetheart. Snuggle with Daddy for a bit, okay?"

Tony pulls the boy closer, good arm wrapping around his back and Peter doesn’t hesitate one bit to sink into his arms. "Daddy?" He mumbles quietly, small arms stuttering in cute confusion as they maneuver around the sheets to wrap his arms around Tony's torso. Tony smiles as he tucks perfectly beneath his arm. 

"Daddy's right here Bubba. Just go to sleep, hmm? I'll see you in the morning."

Peter doesn’t seem to care one bit. He just sighs in acknowledgement and presses closer, so his face fit snuggle against the cotton gauze around the older man's chest. 

Tony smiles and runs his hand along Peter back, as Pepper brushes her fingers through his hair. 

She notices the look teary-eyed look in Tony's expression as he stared down at the boy in his arms. She removes her hand from Peter's hair and moves to comb through Tony's. 

At her touch, his neck snaps up to look at her. He looks tired, defeated, and… well he just looked kinda hellish.

She smiled down at him. "Things will work out Honey. He'll bounce back soon enough."

Tony hmphed in a humorless chuckle. "Yeah. I guess I just never thought I'd have to steal hugs from my kid when he was too tired and delirious to know any better."

"He'll be back to his Daddy's boy ways soon enough, Hon. Just give him some time."

Tony nods. 

"Why don’t you take Harley on up to bed so he can sleep good tonight," Tony suggests, "then you can freshen up and get ready for bed." He pats the empty space in the bed next to him. "There’s plenty of room right here."

Pepper settles her hand on Peter's head once more. "You sure?"

"Positive." Tony nods.

Then with that, Pepper leaves with Harley stumbling along behind her and the boy had barely even registered Tony and Peter in the bed.

Then, Tony's alone. He's alone with Peter tucked under his arm. 

He ducks his head to press his face against the boys unruly curls. They tickle his nose. He can smell the watermelon shampoo. He could feel the warm weight of his tiny body.

A year ago, it was something that he would have never thought he'd miss. He never thought he could ever feel so attached to a child that wasn’t even his. 

Peter mumbled something in his sleep, and Tony ducked his head once more to press a series of lingering kisses to the top of his head… "Shhh. You're okay Bubba."

He missed this. 

He had thought he lost it…

But maybe not.

So, he rested his cheek against the boys hair and sighed a breath of relief. If he worked at it, he's sure he could gain the boys trust once more… there was just something about him. Something about the idea of Peter being apart from him that felt so, so wrong. 

He didn’t remember tears slipping past his eyes...  but apparently, they had because his cheeks were growing damp. He released a shuddery breath and twisted his neck to press one last chaste kiss to his kid's hair…

Everything will turn out alright. He knows it will… because the universe would most definitely implode if they didn't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, fun fact. I actually finished editing this chapter while on a long flight to Illonois. Do yall have any idea how painfully slow it is to type out an 11,000 word chapter on a mobile phone. Yeah... and I'm posting this while I'm waiting for the airplane to dock or whatever the heck that's called... 
> 
> Yeah... I wont be having wifi for the next few days and I just wanted to get this one out before I go off the grid y'know. Lol. So if you guys see any icky errors, definitely let me know. It's harder to edit and get stuff right on my phone instead of my computer at home. 
> 
> Thanks so much. Love you guys!
> 
> I know not much happened this chapter, but idk. I promise that theres more interesting stuff to come. Hope yall enjoyed it tho. Thanks so much for reading.


	25. Chapter 25

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait folks. This chapter was also a pain... 
> 
> I just hate writing these filler chapters, but I hope you enjoy it. It's a necessary evil I suppose.
> 
> I've also dropped a few hints to the coming conflict... see if you can pick them out.

“Captain, you can’t possibly be serious,” Ben Reilly grumbled with open-mouthed disdain. “We have all we need to bring him in.  _ Video evidence  _ of him housing two missing kids and speeding down backroads firing illegally acquired weapons at an unidentified vehicle. We got him. We need to bring him in before he causes any more havoc on this city.”

_ First off _ , Steve thought,  _ no _ . Tony Stark was the only person keeping this city - this country even - from descending into absolute and utter chaos. The world was out of control and Steve wouldn’t be risking his career and compromising his moral integrity to help the two-faced businessman if he didn’t feel Stark’s influence was best for the people’s safety and sanity. He wanted to say it, but he kept his trap shut and instead slowly stood from his chair and braced both hands against his desk, leaning over the mess of case files, papers, and half-empty coffee cups littered across the rugged wooden surface. He tries his best to cast an authoritative glare, but he’s sure he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Stark wasn’t answering his calls, and Rhodes wasn’t giving him any answers either. He could only put things off for so long before people started to grow suspicious. 

He had tried warning him to lay low for a while, but lo and behold the man elected to ignore him. Steve couldn’t exactly say he was surprised either. He just couldn’t help but be a little annoyed that the man seemed so determined to purposefully keep him out of the loop. He wasn’t used to  _ not _ being in charge and  _ not _ knowing the plan and it was making him jittery and anxious.

Although, he had to give the man credit where it was due. He’d been protecting the kid… at least he hopes that was his excuse for flying down the streets of the Bronx at 100 miles an hour, chasing and shooting at an unregistered car with a military grade rifle hanging out the back blowing out police cruisers tires.

Either way, the more time that passes without a word from Stark, the more stressed he got, and the more stressed he got the pissier he started to feel. And the pissier he felt the harder it was not to hurl something at someone’s head… particularly at Stark's head, but he supposed his new brown-nosing lieutenant would do just the trick.

“Reilly,” he spoke with a quiet demand in his voice, “I want you to pause and think for a moment. You’re talking about Tony Stark; owner of the largest tech conglomerate and weapon manufacturing company on the planet. Potentially the leader of the most powerful organized crime syndicate that has been illegitimately reigning over the public for generations. He has dirty cops stationed in every NYPD precinct, the FBI, CIA, MI6, Homeland Security and whatever other government run organization you can think of. Heck, I wouldn’t be surprised if he had cabinet members and Senators loyal to him.” As he speaks, his anger only continues to rise with his frustration. “He has more money than some of the richest men in history put together. He has the best lawyers this country, or any country for that matter, has to offer. He has more political, economic, and social influence on the people than the President himself. So tell me Lieutenant… how wise would it be for us to try and strike against one of the most powerful men in mankind’s history without solid, undeniable proof that wouldn’t feed him the chance to escape and come back at us even stronger?”

Ben Reilly stiffens as he slowly absorbs the angry tension building up in his Captain.

“You think I don’t want to bring this bastard down? I’ve been chasing after him my whole career. And he’s evaded me time and time again, despite any evidence I may grab against him. You wanna know how? He’s a genius mastermind Reilly. There’s really no other way to put it. Anything you throw at him he’ll return tenfold. Every step you take… he’ll be ten steps ahead. There’s no going against Tony Stark and his people. Not unless the UN goes after them himself… and I’d be surprised if more than half of them weren’t supporters of him already. So, no, stand down. Always keep officers stationed around the Tower just in case a riot breaks out or whatnot, but under no circumstances are you to engage with any member of the Stark Family; blood family or crime family. Got it?”

“But, sir--”

“That was an order Lieutenant! That was not up for discussion. You’re dismissed.”

Steve sees something akin to anger flash across the middle-aged man’s face. A look Steve has witnessed often on the man’s face during the short time he’d been an officer at his precinct. He was obviously reluctant to leave, but he turns on his heel and exits the spacious office anyways. Steve stands as he exits and moves towards the windows to draw the blinds shut, coating the room in an eerie darkness, only lightened by the morning sun rising above the horizon.

He groans and flops down in his chair, rubbing his hands over his face, cursing Stark for making his life so goddamn problematic. He wishes Buck was still with him, so he didn’t have to put up with Reilly. The guy had barely been an officer for two years and he was already climbing the ranks faster than what he thought should be allowed, and because of it… he feels entitled and in charge… and he was  _ sick  _ of it.

He groans again and throws his arm towards his desk to grope around for the flip phone buried somewhere beneath the papers. He grabs it and on muscle-memory alone, dials the number he’d been dialing on and off for days. He thumbs in the number because having a sought-after criminal’s personal phone number saved was the first big no-no of being a dirty cop. 

He waited anxiously as he listened to the dial tone… and he listened until it cut out.

He cursed in anger and chucked the phone across the room, leaving a reasonable sized dent in the wall. He growls, mutters under his breath, and turns back to his computer. 

“Damn Stark.”

***

Rhodey grumbles through the entire duration of his ride up to the penthouse. It was nearing 7 in the morning and he hadn’t slept since the catastrophic domino effect of events started. All he wanted was to be able to fall asleep in peace without having to worry about being awoken in the middle of the night to bright lights and handcuffs being locked around his wrists.

He’d already set into motion ‘the cleanse’… just in case. Their best hackers were downstairs siphoning money into SI with legal revenue excuses so it couldn’t be traced back to the not-so-legal means it was acquired. They were in the midst of transporting the weapons and drugs to an underground facility miles away-- everything was just… there was so much to do and half of it couldn’t be done without Tony or Pepper stepping in to start fixing the mess that had been created.

They’ve already put this off long enough and Rhodey’s quite surprised the government hadn’t waltzed in to arrest all of them the second after Hydra-man’s international broadcast. And the fact that Tony’s yet to make an effort to jump into the cleanup means all the responsibility falls on his sleep-deprived, pissy shoulders.

Let’s just say he’d like at least a little support downstairs. Injured or not Tony needs to kick his ass into gear… Tony Stark had survived and operated on much worse. And he needs to get on top of this little exposure nightmare.

“JARVIS? What’s Tony up to?” He asked impatiently.

“Boss is currently being subjected to one of Dr. Banner’s instructional tangents regarding safety and discretion.” JARVIS answered with a hint of humor lining his tone. Rhodey smirked slightly and a pained chuckle escaped his lungs. He doesn’t say anything more. If Tony’s getting an earful from the characteristically recluse and composed doctor that he oh so admired, then maybe that would make him realize that, no, being reckless and damn near suicidal is not a proper coping mechanism.

He wished Tony would get those reprimands much more often.

When he exits the lift, he steps into the Living Room, rubbing at his forehead and squinting his eyes in hopes his migraine would slowly ebb away on its own. The tumultuous chaos downstairs was nearing the point of uncontrollable and he needed something, anything… any idea or word from Tony to help calm the cynical speculations of what was to happen now. 

He sees Pepper perched in an armchair, flipping through a heavy-looking novel, and he invites himself to collapse on the long sofa adjacent to her for a moment of relaxation before he exasperates his headache further by interacting with his pissy boss so early in the morning.

“You doing okay there, Jimmy?” Pepper questions without looking up from her book.

Rhodey turns his head to glare at her, but without her attention settled on him it doesn’t have the desired effect. “No. Your husband’s made my life a living hell.”

He can see a small smile sneak its way across the woman’s face and she hums in acknowledgement as she absently strokes her covered stomach.

Rhodey drops it and sighed in contentment as he absorbs the quiet calmness, eyes closed and relaxing into the cushions of the couch… it seemed uncannily quiet and he suddenly realizes why. Peter was an early riser. “Where’re the boys?”

“Harley’s still asleep and I just got Peter back down.”

Rhodey could tell by the tone of her voice that something had happened, so he cracked open one eye to look at her. “What happened with Pete?”

He could see her tense slightly at his inquiries, but after a few moments she finally decides to put down her book with a soft sigh and turn to look at him with a pursed smile. “He had quite the meltdown this morning.” 

Rhodey couldn’t say he was surprised. Peter had been pretty distraught the past couple of days. 

Pepper shook her head in exasperated annoyance, as if she were upset with herself and dropped her gaze to glare at her lap. “Tony insisted on holding Peter last night after he fell asleep while I went to take a shower. I don’t know  _ why  _ he thought it’d be an innovative idea. Peter had barely even been able to give Tony a hug without devolving into sobs because he was so scared. I knew I should have just put him in his own bed after I got back,” she grimaced and looked back up at Rhodey, “but Tony had fallen asleep and had such a tight hold on him… and-and Peter just looked so peaceful for the first time since all this happened and-and I just couldn’t pull them apart like that. I thought things might turn out better in the morning when Pete woke up and saw things were mostly back to the way they were before. But then I woke up to Peter pounding on Tony’s chest at 5 in the morning, screeching and wailing and I… and I just-- I don’t know what to do with them Jimmy. Tony hasn’t said a word since Peter woke up. He refuses to talk to me, and I know it’s because he feels guilty and angry about what happened.”

Rhodey sits up properly and braces both elbows on either of his knees to cradle his head in his hands. “Damn Pep…” he mutters, scratching at his scalp. ”I didn’t… I thought the kid would be over it the instant he saw Tones again. Those two were thick as thieves before all this shit went down.”

“I know,” she sighs, making a move to reopen her book to disregard the heaviness her admission had created in the room. Then, thinking better of it, she turned her attention back to the man sitting beside her. “What’s all going on downstairs? I’m sure with everything that’s been happening it’s complete chaos. You look like you haven’t slept in days.”

Rhodey hid his face and rolled his eyes with a sigh.  _ She had no idea.  _

“I just need to talk to Tony. He’s good with chaos.”

***

When Bruce finishes berating Tony for his recklessness, Rhodey makes his way into the room as the good doctor goes to administer his checkup on Pepper and the baby.

He enters the room to find it eerily stiff and thick with an uneasy tension. The only sound is the urgent rustling of sheets as Tony struggled to throw off the thin blankets tangled around his legs and exit the bed. He was already halfway out the bed by the time he caught sight of Rhodey hanging idly by the door. And the way the man’s eyes bugged out as if he were about to get in trouble was such an unusual look to see on his face. Then, as quickly as it had appeared, the distress was quickly painted over with a thin lining of aggressive frustration. The man’s lips curl up in a bare-toothed snarl and he continues his escape from the bed. 

Rhodey leaves him to it, content with allowing the man a few moments of sound mind before he jumps at him with all the shit going on in his company and not-so legal better half of it.

Tony keeps his body propped against the bed to support his weight as he somehow managed to wrangle himself into an old pair of jeans, and he settled without a shirt now that his injured arm was in a sling. When Tony looks up at him again, he barely grunts in acknowledgement and turns away to grab the standard looking cane propped beside the bed. It was meant to help him walk while his leg healed. 

“You good, man?” Rhodey questions tentatively with a worried crease of his brows. Tony was rarely quiet. He was always jabbering about something or another whether it be with purpose or to distract, deflect, and annoy. Tony always had something to say and this uncanny silence was not a good sign. Rhodey didn’t know whether it was worry, empathy, or guilt that was slowly eating away at Rhodey’s chest until a hollow feeling settled in the pit of his stomach. He hadn’t seen Tony so disassociated since the day he went to identify his mother’s body, per Obadiah’s insistence. Since then, his best friends mental health seemed to be on a steady decline. 

Rhodey felt hope when he had met Pepper… because Tony actually got better. He smiled more; joked like he used to and was just all around happier. But then the pregnancy had happened… and then Killian… and the baby… and Tony got bad again in a very masked and almost unidentifiable way. It was one of his lowest points, and Rhodey hadn’t realized how well Tony had handled it until after he came back from Afghanistan, traumatized, mute, and coiled as tight as a spring. He got better, slowly. And then the second pregnancy… Morgan… then Harley… and Peter. 

Tony had been getting better again. Rhodey was sure that this was it; this is the reward Tony Stark received for all the good he tried to implement onto the world. 

But now things were messy again. Rhodey couldn’t imagine the pain of having the constant fear of growing to love something and having it torn away time and time again. Yet, his best friend dealt with it every day… and the nightmare was slowly becoming a reality.

Rhodey just hopes he could bounce back because he doubts they’ll be able to come out of this with both the boys still under their care.

“Just peachy,” Tony growled with a slight rasp. 

Rhodey saw the man’s entire body recoil as he pushed his weight onto his legs, and Rhodey immediately rushed forward to help stabilize him before he ended up hurting himself. Tony doesn’t even fight him off, which only solidified his standing worry. 

“You find the bastards that shot at the kid?”

Rhodey supports him as he got used to the cane. Once Tony finally stabilized himself, he shrugged Rhodey off and started milling around the room, opening cabinets and slamming them closed as he growled and grumbled nonsensical words under his breath. His search continued growing more fervent and Rhodey simply settled with staying out of his way as he bolted from drawer to drawer at a speed that shouldn't be possible with the injuries he’d sustained. 

While Rhodey watched him, he couldn’t help but come to a ridiculous realization.  _ That was a fashionable cane _ , but then again… it was Tony Stark. Everything about him was fashionable. He just never thought a person could make limping along with a cane look so majestic. In fact, it made the man appear just a bit more menacing than usual… maybe it was because of the constant scowl etched into his face as he grew more and more frustrated with his fruitless search. Or maybe it reminded him of his late grandmother and the constant smacks upside the head he’d receive from the hard-wooden stick when he rummaged through her pocketbook.

“Rhodey!” Tony snapped, glaring at him from across the room when the man neglected to answer him. 

Rhodey cleared his throat. “Yeah, sorry. Just kinda exhausted. Um… I got names, but the cops got’em before we could. We lost them there for a few minutes and we doubled back to find a police cruiser T-boned into the passenger side. We got outta there and I called Rogers… Apparently his new Lieutenant, Ben Reilly, got’em in custody. He says he can get a transport set up for us to intercept in a couple days, but he’s gotta wait till the heat dies down a bit… he also says he needs to talk to you…”

Tony nods, waving off the last concern. “Good. Great.”

Rhodey watches carefully, furrowing his brows, as Tony fumbles with an electronically locked drawer and pulled it open with a harsh tug after thumbing in the code. Then, he’s pulling out a long syringe filled with a dodgy looking orange liquid and pulling off the cap with his teeth. He jams the long needle into the side of his injured arm before Rhodey even has the chance to react.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, Tones, what the heck are you doing?!” He rushes forward just as Tony presses down on the plunger and spits out the cap from his mouth. He feels his heart stutter… was he trying  _ something  _ again? He wouldn’t, right? Not when there was so much at risk… when Pepper and the boys needed him most… “What the hell did you just put in your body?”

“It’s just a little something I’ve been working on,” Tony sighs with a small shudder. He pulled the syringe out from his arm with a shaky hand and practically slaps it onto the counter when his strength begins giving out, leaving him with only small spurts of twitched, mechanical movement. Rhodey catches him just in time before his legs collapse beneath him.

“Yeah, well, you probably shoulda worked on it a little more before you dosed yourself up.” He grunts as he dragged Tony over to settle into a nearby chair. Tony’s head lolls back and Rhodey pats his cheek to wake him up. “Please don’t do this man… You aren’t gonna leave me with all this crap to clean up by myself.”

“I’s fine,” Tony slurs slowly with a slight scoff. “Not g’nna die, idiot. I’s supposed to do this. Body’s gotta…” he trails off for a good second, looking high as a kite, “Body’s gotta compensate… jus’ give… jus’ giv’t a few secon’s.”

So, Rhodey waits… and waits… and his head never stops buzzing the entire time. 

 After about ten minutes, Tony finally comes to with a surprised jolt and red eyes. He coughs violently and doubles over at the waist. Dry heaves wrack his body and he nearly chokes from the thick saliva trickling from his open mouth.

“Hell,” he groans with a gasp. Rhodey pats his back. “That didn’t feel too good. Prob’ly shoulda ate first.”

“What the hell was that?” Rhodey presses insistently.

Tony waves him off carelessly and slowly sits back up. “It’s an enhancement. Cellular regeneration. It only works on flesh wounds so far, but heck man… that hurts like a bitch.” As if to prove his point, Tony slowly starts unwrapping the gauze around his torso. As he unravels himself from the wrappings, Rhodey watches as the long white strands slowly fade into a darkened red. Then Tony’s chest is bare as he snatches the last of the stained gauze from his torso. The skin is still matted in dried blood, but there’s no trace of a wound of any kind. All the scrapes and bruises that he would have surely received after falling out of a moving vehicle were gone…

And now that he thought about it, the small cuts along his face and arms had faded into nothing but tanned skin.

“Holy shit!” Rhodey gasps, dropping his head to get a better look. Tony jerks away when Rhodey presses against the space where the wound once was, and he hisses in pain.

“Only flesh wounds Rhodes. The ribs are still broken.”

“Right. Sorry man,” he removes his hands and turns to meet Tony’s eyes. “How’s it work? And how much more do you got? Do you know what this could mean?”

Tony chuckles softly under his breath at Rhodey’s enthusiasm and reaches towards the counter for fresh gauze and a washcloth to clean away the old blood.

“It’s rather complicated. I combined ideas for Killian’s Extremis and Osborn’s cross genetics to fashion a mellowed-out version of their designs. That was the first time I tested it out on human flesh though.” He starts unwrapping the cloth around his hand and flexes his fingers as he examines his newly healed palm. The faded spiderwebbed scars remained, but they weren’t anywhere near as prominent as they would have been if it would have healed on its own. “I’ve only just started working on it… And I’ve only tested it with my blood. I’m not sure if specific DNA modifications need to be changed to the dose for each person. But, yes, I do realize the benefit it will have. Just…” Tony looks over at him seriously. “Don’t tell anyone about it yet. Especially Bruce or Pepper. They’re already on my case enough as is. If either of them found out I injected an untested drug into my body, I’d never hear the end of it.”

Rhodey nods. “Of course. But just imagine what this could do for us Tony. Not only for our guys… imagine if we could manufacture it. People would pay a fortune for this stuff. We can forget about old fashioned drug running. You could- you could be the world’s first trillionaire, man. You’d be untouchable.”

The potential this held had Rhodey’s mind reeling. This could fix everything.

Tony rolled his eyes. “Oh, yes. Whatever could I do with even more money?” He scoffed sarcastically and started wrapping fresh gauze around his torso to keep up appearances for Bruce and Pepper. “You ever think that maybe it could be used for a good deed here and there? Besides, if the pharmaceutical companies got their hands on this… it’d be game over for everyone.”

Rhodey narrowed his eyes. “When did you become such a humanitarian?” 

“Let’s just drop it, alright?”

Rhodey doesn’t want to drop it. There’s a lot more he’d like to discuss about the potential of this futuristic drug, but there just so happened to be more pressing matters that really needed to be discussed. And maybe if they discussed them, Tony would change his mind.

“Fine. I have important things I need to talk with you about, anyways.”

Tony tilted his chin up in a gesture for him to continue. So, Rhodey straightens his posture and twists in his seat so he’s perched on the very edge as he settles his best friend with a serious look. 

“Things are going just a bit chaotic downstairs. The strike team from yesterday was ambushed at the warehouse. Two rookies are in the infirmary and we lost one during the conflict…”

“ _ Who _ ?”

Rhodey’s head bowed sorrowfully. “It was Rio, Tones.”

Tony’s jaw stiffened and his gaze hardened after his sharp intake of breath. “We’ll be sure to have her a proper burial service.” He croaks. “Any family?”

“Not that I know of.”

Tony nods slowly. “Alright, alright. Make it honorable as hell.”

Rhodey could see the guilt already in his face. Sometimes it drove him nuts how much his best friend blamed himself for every little thing that went wrong. So, he put a hand on his back and squeezed his shoulder. 

“Don’t do that to yourself Tones. You did what was most important. You were watching out for your kid, and you got there just in time… and I think all this,” he gestures to Tony’s practically mangled body, “is punishment enough. ‘Sides,” Rhodey grins cheekily, “the world would most definitely descend into chaos without you watching its back.”

“Yeah, sure,” Tony deflects with a dismissive wave of his hand. “And what’s the verdict on my inevitable arrest?”

Rhodey winces. “About that… there are some officers stationed outside with the protestors and paparazzi. They’ve got a few nests situated in buildings surrounding the Tower too. I’d say you got less than 24 hours before they come running in here guns’a blazing. At the very least you’re going to have to submit to that court hearing of Ross’ if you wanna avoid a showy arrest. Steve said he’s been trying to get ahold of you all day so you can work something out. He didn’t sound too confident in this going away on its own though… too many witnesses.”

Tony growled under his breath. “God this is all so messed up. Can’t he get statements from the bastards his officer brought in? If they confess, we can claim self-defense."

Rhodey shakes his head. “He’s tried. They don’t speak English; only some weird evolved variation of Dari, Uzbek and some other language, and there aren’t any local translators. Google can’t even understand them. So, technically he can’t question them until he knows for certain they can understand their rights… and he also needs to understand what they are saying.”

“That’s bullshit and he knows it. They can obviously speak a normal language. They’re just trying to play the system,” Tony snaps.

Rhodey shrugs with a soft sigh. “He’s still a police officer Tony. He has to go by the rules if he doesn’t want to get suspended.”

“Well they should  _ understand  _ that shooting at a fourteen-year-old kid is an arrestable offense no matter the language or country! Now, I’m the one that’s gonna have to take the fall for all this.”

"I think that’s the point," Rhodey huffed, collapsing back into his seat. "A lotta damage control’s gotta happen if you want to stay out of prison."

“There’s no way I’m getting out of this with Ross dead set on me never seeing the light of day again.” He clasps his hands in his lap and glowers down at them. 

“What about the Hydra guy? I know you hate his guts right now, but he’s basically called out Ross on his bullshit and cleared your name for all the serious stuff. All you gotta do is explain what’s going on with the boys and lawyer up to make sure they can’t touch you.”

Tony scoffed. “What about the crazy car chase shootout? I’m sure there’s plenty of video evidence for that. I doubt Rogers can get me outta that Scott free, even with a confession from those Dari idiots.” Tony’s head bobs up to fix Rhodey with an indignant stare.

Rhodey shrugs with a sigh. “You’ve gotten outta worse.”

Tony rolls his eyes. “Like that’s an excuse.”

Rhodey huffed in exasperation. “Well, what do you want me to do, Tony? I can’t just magically fix this and make it all go away. Maybe if you presented your new cellular regen enhancement, they could cut you some slack--”

“Absolutely not!” Tony growled, slamming his fist down on the blanketed mattress. “Do you know what Hydra could do if they got their grimy hands on it?”

“You wouldn’t be giving it to Hydra--”

Tony whacks him in the head with the cane. “Wake up DingDong!  _ Ross _ is Hydra. The  _ Pres-i-dent _ . _ Presidente _ . Almighty executive officer. Ruler of the free world. Man out for my head since I won’t help his sick little army take over the world. Ringing any bells?”

Rhodey’s brows furrowed in confusion. “I thought his involvement was speculative Tones.”

Tony holds up his hand and begins listing off Ross’ offenses. “He worked with Stane; Hydra. He works with Oscorp; Hydra. And I’m sure he wasn’t innocent when it came to my kidnapping with the Ten Rings, which by the way - unless you’ve been living under a goddamn rock -  _ Hydra!” _

“Alright, Tones, my mistake. Calm down, yeah? I’m just brainstorming ideas here. Just be glad the CPS hasn’t come knockin’ down our doors yet, yeah?”

Tony growled under his breath and heaves himself out of the chair. He stumbled forward with the cane tapping along sporadically beside him as he rushed towards the bed in a swarm of flying limbs and stumbling steps. "I’m gonna kill that sick son of a bitch when I get my hands on him." He heaved.

Tony curses himself for being oblivious enough to let this happen. He should have seen it coming, but he’d turned a blind eye to everything because he’d been distracted by menial things. He released the cane, letting it clatter to the floor, and he braced both his hands on the edge of the bed. He hadn’t even  _ thought  _ of the boys being taken away from him. How could he have not thought of that? “Give me some good news Rhodes.” He begged breathlessly, head bent, and eyes pressed closed, inhaling slowly to calm his racing heart. He couldn’t start thinking about it… because if he did, he’d never be able to stop.

“Well... “ Rhodey trailed off, tapping his fingers against his belt. He cursed himself for mentioning the whole CPS thing so soon. “aside from all the ‘kidnapping’ and ‘kinda obvious but still a secret criminal organization’ accusations, you’re actually getting some good publicity with the general public.”

Tony grunts at him to continue, kneading the tips of his fingers into his skull. “Please,” he groans, “enlighten me.” He literally couldn’t care any less about his public image. Not when all he could think about is how heartbroken Peter and Pepper would be if they had to be separated… or how much Harley would isolate himself from future attachment. He didn’t even let himself think about how much danger the kid would be in without his protection… Pepper would surely kill him for this. 

And he didn’t know how he was going to fix it. 

“JARVIS pull up the pictures from yesterday--”

“He’s not connected to any wireless servers,” Tony interrupts gruffly, “I need to reinforce and update him before he can wander free through Google again.” He rolls his eyes and continues under his breath. “I swear he has the immunity of a child during flu season.”

Rhodey sighs and pulls out his phone. There’s a hot minute where neither of them say anything and Tony broods as Rhodey flicks through whatever it was he was trying to find. And then he found it and shoved the device in front of Tony’s face, hoping it somehow might lift the man’s spirts.

A positive, hopeful Tony was a problem-solving Tony. And that’s the Tony he needed right now.

“Look. Twitter’s even started a petition to try an overrule any potential sentencing. I know it’s not much… but Ross is a greedy man… He’ll want to be reelected and anything that might put him in a bad light with the people might deter him, y’know.”

Tony doesn’t seem to hear him. Instead, his anger and panic flares at seeing himself beaten and battered for the public to see and he grabs the phone and glares at the screen. There, glaring back at him, is a clear unobstructed photo of him and Harley sitting on the bench while the kid dozed off against him. They’re both bloody and bruised. “What the hell is this? Who took this picture?! People know better than to take incriminating pictures of me in public. I thought I made that clear at the last press conference. I want their name and address--”

“Tony, calm down.” Rhodey placated, resting a hand on the man’s shoulder. “This is  _ good _ for a change.” Rhodey takes back the phone and quickly thumbs to the next thing, which turns out to be a grainy video. “I saw this one this morning. It’s all over the news, actually.”

The cameraman is cursing in the background as it follows the sleek black vehicle that’s peeling down the street with the blurry silhouette of a man - who Tony recognizes as himself - hanging out the window.

“ _ Holy shit, _ ” the guy shouts as a loud gunshot rings out and Tony goes tumbling onto the cement below. The video continues, the cameraman running towards the chaotic scene as screams and scrambling footsteps sound around him, running in the opposite direction. 

And Tony watches with pursed brows as the video zooms in on his motionless form and then immediately jolts to the side just in time to capture the moment when Harley throws himself out of the car as well… and then the guy is cursing again.

Tony rolls his eyes and shoves the device back into Rhodey’s hands. “So, the entire world witnessed my major wipeout… I don’t see how this is considered good news Rhodes. In fact, I see this more as video evidence just screaming for my arrest.”

Rhodey wants to slap him for is incompetence, but he tries to keep in mind that the man had quite literally drugged himself up only moments earlier, before suffering a near mental break at the mention of maybe losing the kids he’d developed an unhealthy attachment to. “Well, Tones… typically kidnapped victims don’t go tumbling out of cars to run to their kidnappers aid then cuddle up to them and doze off.”

“It wasn’t  _ cuddling _ . I don’t  _ cuddle _ .” Tony immediately protested. Rhodey settled him with a blank stare and swiped his thumb across the screen of his phone once more to show a screenshot of the moment in his Living Room right before he realized everything was about to go batshit crazy. Peter snuggled up against him on the couch, hiding his face against his chest and his floury hair making an utter mess of his black tank. Tony scowled at the reminder of what once was and hurried to wave off Rhodey’s blatant reminder that,  _ yes, you’re a softy now _ . 

“So, what are you trying to say? I’m pretty sure that kidnapping is still kidnapping no matter the relationship. Fathers get hit with kidnapping charges all the time. Snuggling your kidnapped victims isn’t typically a compelling argument people use in court.”

“Yes, but if you claim extenuating circumstances, and that you had to take the kids under your wing because they were in danger… that might lead to something,” Rhodey presses. “You might at least be able to salvage a bit of your reputation with the public. Famous people with a lot of money get away with a lot of stuff, Tony. You should know this. And jurors got it soft for sensitive dad-folk who take in kids for the greater good… They’ll eat this up.”

“Yes, but what about the kids? If I address this,” he glares as he jams his pointer finger into the bed, “if I take this approach, they’re going to take them away from me for good. There’s no chance the courts would let me an’ Pep take ‘em.”

Rhodey’s face falls into a pitying smile. It’s probably about time to start easing him into the idea...

“Maybe it’s for the best Tony.”

It’s a sentiment to how distraught that single statement made the man when he didn’t immediately jump into action and shove him into a wall with a hand tightening around his throat. Instead, his scowl falls into a dejected gape, like he couldn’t quite believe his friend would say those words.

“Don’t you think it’d be best for them to grow up in a normal, healthy environment where their Dad didn’t run a criminal organization and torture people in his spare time?”

Rhodey watches as the man’s face slowly reddens in suppressed anger.

“So, you’re saying I’d be a bad father?”

“No, I didn’t say that Tony. You’re already a great father. I just think… after all those kids have been through… I just don’t think it’s a good idea to feed that trauma. Look at Harley, I mean. He’s what? Fourteen? And he…” a humorless chuckle erupts from Rhodey’s chest, “the kid wants to be just like you. His only aspiration is to be a criminal, Tony. I don’t have kids of my own, but I’m pretty sure they’re supposed to wanna be astronauts and doctors…  not people like us. He’s still a kid and he already knows how to handle a gun… he killed his own mother because Richard pointed a gun at his sisters head.”

The redness in Tony’s face immediately drained. “He  _ what _ ?”

Then it’s Rhodey’s turn to panic. “ _ Oh shit.” _

Tony immediately stands from the bed, steadying himself on his shaky legs. “When did you find out about this?”

Rhodey rushes to fix his mistake. “The kid told me about it yesterday morning. I wanted him to tell you what happened first, before you did something-- whoa!” He jumps to the side to block Tony’s stumbling path to the door. His face was downturned in a determined scowl, and Rhodey had no doubt he was ready to go tear the Parker bastard limb from limb. “Before you gave Harley a chance to heal,” he placated slowly. “Hey, look’t me.” He grabs Tony’s face and makes him lock eyes. “You need to calm down. Let Harley come to you, okay? I think he needs to tell you what happened himself.”

“How can you sit around and act like this isn’t a big deal. I’ve been putting this off long enough,” he pushes against Rhodey, but the man doesn’t budge. 

“Believe me, when I listened to what the bastard did, I wanted nothing more than to watch him burn… but there’s more important things to think about right now.  _ You  _ need to go talk to your SI legal and PR team to try and get all this covered up at court before it gets more out of hand than it already is.”

“I can’t.”

“Yes, you can.” Rhodey insists.

“I can’t risk it,” Tony reiterates with a glare.

“Tony, listen. If we do this right, you won’t have to worry about prison. And, heck, if you get arrested, we’ll just bust you out. It’s no big deal. Just c’mon. SI’s gonna plummet if you don’t do this, and so will the organization. If you put it off, it puts the rest of us at risk--”

Rhodey shuts up when he sees the look in his best friends eyes. Tony stares at him, head cocked to the side and eyes open wide as if begging for Rhodey to understand. His nostrils are flared, and his jaw is set.

“I can’t give ‘em up.” He whispers under his breath.

And Rhodey understands.

“If I do this… they won’t let me have them back… an-and they’re _my_ _kids_.”

“We’ll find a way,” Rhodey reassures, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder and offering him a small smile. “You’re Tony Stark. Nothing’s ever stood in the way of what you wanted.”

****  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading guys and gals. Sorry for a lack of Pete and Harley this chapter, there were just some important things I needed to get out of the way before I got distracted again. This is actually only half the chapter I had originally planned out, so yeah... next chapter will feature more Tony and the kids and also a little Pepper, so stay tuned!
> 
> Also, announcement time! I have just recently planned out the tiny details of what all I want to happen and I had to change a few things around. So, because of that, I will be going back to old chapters and tweaking them a bit to fit the story better and to fix any mistakes o characterization errors I may have made. So, if anyone has noticed anything that I might have missed let me know. Literally anything. Maybe some important detail I've forgotten to address again, or a scene/event that didn't really make sense for the story. Also, I'm trying to make sure all the questions I've raised in past chapters are answered here pretty soon, so lemme know if things aren't adding up or making sense. 
> 
> So, yeah, thanks y'all for accommodating my obsessive OCD self.


	26. Chapter 26

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, sorry for the forever wait. 
> 
> Here you are though! Enjoy!

“So basically… you’re saying that I was right?” Tony questioned with a growl and a pointed raise of his left brow directed towards his wife. His steely and grumpy demeanor from that morning had returned quite quickly after a half hour or so of letting the drug wear off. Now… well now his anxiety was just breeding frustration, and this latest issue was not helping matters whatsoever.

He could practically feel Pepper roll her eyes. They were both stiff and troubled, but they sat on the couch and listened to Bruce’s adamant instructions anyway.

“Yes,” Bruce responds stoically, unamused by Tony’s interruption, “which means you’re going to have to go back to strict bed rest until the baby comes. No more walking around, no more carrying Peter, and most definitely,” Bruce narrows his eyes to get his point across, “no more work.”

Tony gets little to nothing out of the next few minutes of the discussion. He’s too wound up with bitterness to pay any attention. All he could think about was the possibility of losing Morgan before he ever even got her. He’d failed to protect her before he even had a chance to be her father and that sucked. So far, he’d somehow messed up with all three of his kids in a matter of just two days. Maybe he really wasn’t fit to be a father… and that thought just pissed him off even more. He _hated_ not being good at things.

He knows Pepper’s probably in no better a mental state than he is, yet she remains poised and calm as she takes all the new rules in stride. Her hands are clasped neatly in her lap and her spine is erect. The arm Tony had draped over her shoulders earlier had fallen limply to the back of the couch when he had slumped into the arm rest, so he inched his hand forward to gently massage the back of her neck to offer comfort. He could feel how tense she was, and he had a feeling she was feeling more than just a little guilty thanks to his stupid comment. Still… he couldn’t help but feel a little irritated with her.

He didn’t realize how tense _he_ was, though. Not until he felt Rhodey’s hand land on his shoulder and gently pinch the tense muscles between his shoulder and neck in a light massage. It was a sharp, sudden sting, but it kept him grounded and calm.

Next thing he knows, Bruce is standing from the couch to leave. Tony immediately jumps to his feet in protest; his throat tight and his hands clenched together in tight fists as he glowered at the doctor. “Where the hell you think you’re going?! You gotta stay up here with Pepper.”

Bruce frowns at him, glaring pointedly at the genius’ wobbly legs. Not at all put off by the menacing words. It wasn’t until Rhodey helpfully shoved the butt of his cane into his hand that Bruce graced him with a response. “As much as I would love to stay, sir… you’ve got an army of soldiers downstairs who are seriously injured. I need to dress their wounds… and maybe get a little sleep of my own. I’ll send a nurse up to help Pepper-”

“No,” Tony growls, staggering forward with the cane sloppily slapping the floor with his lack of practice. “No more strangers up here. We still haven’t weeded out the rat. Have the nurses take care of things downstairs. _You_ are going to stay up here-”

“Tony,” both Rhodey and Pepper scold him, but Pepper’s stern growl was the one to make him pause, “I’m a grown woman. I think I can take care of myself just fine.”

Tony felt various muscles twitch in irritation. _Was she really this godamned stupid?!_

He whirled around to settle her with a withering scowl. “So you said the last time. Now look what’s happened.”

He didn’t mean for it to come out so snappish, but it did, and he was too wound up and frustrated to pause and apologize… because what he said was true. He knew better than to let Pepper start watching the news again. He knew better than to let her get involved with their work again. He’d fallen for her sweet-talking manipulative words and now look where they were…

“Tony,” Rhodey steps in once the silence had grown a bit too heavy, “Bruce needs to go and take care of things-”

“This is much more important!” Tony insists with narrowed eyes and a hiss. “My wife and my child are infinitely more important than stitching wounds of men stupid enough to blindly run into battle at my say so.”

“You mean the lives of men who trust you, depend on you, and are loyal to you to the point of putting their own lives at risk to protect your name and your family?” Rhodey snarls. Tony can pinpoint the insulted aggravation in his voice as his best friend straightens to take a defensive stance against him. He instantly recognizes his mistake. His scowl twitches and his glare flickers with a red-rimmed bleakness before he deflates entirely.

He’s tired, stressed, and hurting… he just wanted something to go right for once.

“But, Pepper…-” he tries to argue, only to be interrupted once more.

“Will be fine,” Rhodey insists, face softening alongside his voice. He waves in the general direction Bruce was standing. “Go take care of what you need to before he starts throwing another fit.”

Tony’s glare returns as he watches Bruce leave. “Fine,” he growls, dropping heavily onto the couch beside his stony-faced wife. “If Bruce isn’t staying, then I’ll have to.”

Then, with that simple statement, Rhodey’s frustration was restored. “No,” he placated, as if he were speaking to a child. “You’re going to go talk to your legal team to help me get this mess straightened out.”

“No. I need to stay-”

“You’re going Tony. End of discussion,” Pepper ordered firmly. Tony’s mouth dropped open, desperate to fabricate some fantastical excuse to allow him to stay.

“I know you don’t want to address this Tony,” Rhodey sighs, “but the longer you put it off, the more chance you have of going to prison.”

Tony shakes his head defiantly. “We’ll just take the kids and disappear. We’ll move to Italy or something. They won’t extradite me; they don’t got the balls to throw their main source of security under the bus. Pep and I can teach the boys how to speak Italian. We’ll get a nice little cabin out in the boonies. And we’ll change our names. I’ve got fake identities all lined up for me and Pep; I’ll just have to work on the boys…” he’s rambling; he knows he is… but everything’s just falling apart, and he doesn’t know how to handle it. The potential ramifications are becoming clearer the longer he thinks about it and he feels a cold sweat break out and his lungs collapse heavily in his chest.

The man behind Hydra has an MO, and he can’t pinpoint it. He doesn’t know if the guy is just after his kids, or if he thought it be the perfect opportunity to expose him for something so undeniably “not good”. Either way, Hydra was obviously set on separating him from those kids for some god knows reason and that scared the shit out of him.

He feels Pepper’s soft hand wrap around his and for a second he lets himself marvel at the fact that Pepper loved him enough to comfort him even after he had been a major prick. “Tony, it’s okay. This isn’t something we haven’t dealt with before.”

Tony twists, wincing as his ribs groan in protest, he grabs Pepper’s hands and grasps them tightly in his as he stares into her eyes. She looks upset and he hates to make it worse, but he’s terrified, and he doesn’t have anybody to trust but her and Rhodes. 

“Pep… honey,” he whispers softly, “if I do this there’s no way we’d be able to keep ‘em without turning some very influential heads. Ross and whoever else is after our kids are going to do everything they can to take them away. We’d have to fight back… and if we do, we’d lose the little support we got here… it’ll all be game over. We can say bye-bye to our money and our lives and say hello to a maximum-security prison right next door to Ryker’s island. Any tiny public allegation will give Ross all he needs to make this all go away and give Hydra the bump it needs to revolt. We either uproot or hand over the kids...”

He witnesses the moment it hits her. Her eyes tear up and her hold on Tony’s hands tighten. “No.” She shakes her head and Tony bites his lip. If only the world would listen if he uttered that word. It used to, but he wasn’t so sure it would be enough this time around.

“And even if we uproot and shut this whole operation down… Hydra won’t stop. They’ve got us pitted in a corner and they’re too powerful for us to stop by ourselves. Either way we’d be losing the kids.” His voice wavered with the words. The more he spoke the more he realized the implications this tiny problem created. The government would shut SI down for illicit activities and they’d have to downsize to Europe… leaving the most powerful country on the globe in the hands of Nazis… he didn’t see any good options anymore.

If his family wasn’t at risk, he’d give kudos to the man who thought out this plan… it was a dirty play; one that reminded him a bit too much of his father’s go-to strategies.

“Tones,” Rhodey hisses in warning, “you’re not supposed to be stressing her out.”

Tony turns to look at him over his shoulder and growls. “Well, it would be much worse if I didn’t warn her about it and then a week later the government’s carting off our kids while I rot out in a prison more secure than Fort Knox two weeks before my scheduled execution.”

Tony’s harsh words are followed by a resounding crash from the hallway and frantic footsteps fleeing the scene. All three heads snap in the direction of the hall. Pepper lifts a shaky hand to her mouth and squeezes her eyes shut as a tearful gasp escapes her. Tony bounces to his feet, crying out with a quiet groan when his bad knee immediately collapsed in protest after one too many times of careless movements.

“Kid?” He calls out instead, falling back into the couch with a hand clasped tightly over the aching joint. 

When there was no answer given to his call, Rhodey took it upon himself to investigate. He disappeared around the corner, slipping into the hall, and Tony finds his gut twisting painfully. He wraps his arm around Pepper and pulls her closer as tears quietly slip down her cheeks. He wished his life didn’t have to always be so complicated. He wished his wife didn’t have to worry about him. And he wished his kids had the opportunity to be normal… but that was wishful thinking, and wishful thinking wasn’t realistic.

“What if we adopt them before court?” Pepper whispers hopefully.

Tony holds her tighter. He knows she knows that won’t work. Heck, Pepper could lead the legal team if she had the desire… “I don’t think so, hon. It was already gonna be tough even with the money we got… but now that they have undeniable evidence and-and they know I’ve been housing them this long. Then Harley ran and I had to fetch him… that’s not a good look on our situation. It’s too public. Rhodey thinks we’d have a chance in court if we didn’t insist on keeping the boys… but I-I don’t wanna pit ‘em off when they could be used against me.”

Then, Rhodey emerges from the hall with Harley trailing behind him, head bowed to stare at the ground, and hands clasped tightly in front of him in a stance mimicking a submissive servant from the 1800s. 

Tony sits up straighter as they approach, prepping himself to have a serious conversation about what the kid had just overheard. 

“Listen, kid-”

“It’s my fault… isn’t it?” Harley croaks, lifting his head to look at both Tony and Pepper. Tony’s mouth falls open to protest the statement, but Pepper beats him to it. Her arm lifts and she reaches out to tug Harley towards her. 

“Of course not, sweetheart,” she soothes. Harley drops onto the couch next to her, looking very much like the child he tries to deny he is, and tucks himself close. Pepper’s hand lifts to comb through his hair and his face presses closer to her neck as she hums quietly to fill the silence of the room. 

“I’m just so sorry for everything,” Harley whispers. “I-I-I didn’t mean to get Tony hurt and-and I’m sorry for stressing you out so much, and I’m sorry for almost being the reason Hydra’s gonna take over the world, and-and I’m just-- I’m just sorry.”

Tony feels an odd sensation jolt across his skin that is scarily similar to a persistent itch, and his fingers cramp. Rhodey casts him a pitying look as he stirs quietly at his place beside Pepper, opposite of the kid. 

Eventually he finds enough courage to use his arm wrapped around Pepper’s shoulders to twist and graze the tips of his fingers over the kid’s unruly hair… It was a lot like Peter’s hair, he notices. 

Pepper’s fingers continue combing through the curly locks and Tony drops his hand further to brush his fingertips against the skin along the back of the kid’s neck. He wasn’t sure if it was _his_ skin that prickled, or the kid’s, but either way the sensation didn’t deter him. He laid his cheek on Pepper’s shoulder and slowly let his hand wander up into the hair on the nape of Harley’s neck. His fingers spread slightly to allow the long curls to pass through as his blunt nails gently scratch at the kid’s scalp. 

After a moment, he realizes what he was doing, and he recoils his hand. He was intruding on an intimate moment between Harley and Pepper… he was-- he shouldn’t be involved. 

“Nothing is your fault. We’ll figure this out, okay?” He hears Pepper whisper after pressing a kiss to his head… and then Tony was brought back down from his incriminating thoughts. And he finds some patch of untouched determination boiling in his stomach and he finds a burning sense of power seize his muscles… _he was going to fix this._

_Whatever it takes._

Harley’s arms tighten around Pepper’s waist, being careful of her baby bump. “I-I… I’m willing to testify whatever it takes to make sure Pete stays with you. I’ll-I’ll take all the blame-”

_Such a good kid… such a good brother._

“Not happening kiddo,” Tony rasps, his other hand awkwardly flopping towards Pepper so he can grab the kid’s hand and squeeze it tightly. “Either we figure out a way to stay together or we’ll leave, alright. I don’t leave my best guys behind. Don’t care if the world ends up going up in flames or not… we stick together. I’ll set fire to the world myself if I have to.”

“That’s right,” Pepper agrees, “you’re just as much ours as Peter is--” she cuts herself off abruptly and snaps her head to the side to stare at her husband.  “I-I just remembered something.”

Tony recognizes the look in her eyes and that same boiling determination consumes him. Every muscle in him tenses as the flames lick up and down his body. “What is it?”

“What if they were proven to be ours?”

Harley pulls away from the embrace slowly to stare at her, and both Tony and Rhodey share an uncertain look. 

“What do you mean Hon?”

Pepper wants to snap at him for being dense, but instead she exhales slowly and reaches out to hold onto Harley’s shirt when she felt the boy begin scooting away. She wasn’t about to let him escape so easy this time. “When you were dealing with the security breach I was on the phone with legal, talking about the different options to cover up these kidnapping claims. Our go to had been so simply forge old adoption certificates, but with how closely they’ve been monitoring you the past few years I don’t think two fraudulent adoptions slipping past them will bode well with the courts. But if we talk to the right people, we can manipulate a blood test to claim the boys as our own. And we can get the papers just as easily as the adoption papers. Harley of course would have to go down as a year younger than he is to corroborate with our backstories, but it could work.”

“Thirteen?” Harley immediately protested, disgusted with the idea of having to give up another year until adulthood. That just gave Tony more incentive to put off his intensive training for another year. 

“Hang on, kid,” Tony commands, holding up a hand as he fixes his serious ‘I’m gonna fix this’ gaze onto Pepper. “How can we claim that when the world already knows about Pete being a Parker. And what about Harley’s family? All a person needs is a computer and an ounce of common sense to figure it out.”

Pepper nods because of course she thought of it all. “It would be easy enough to claim that we handed over Harley to be cared for by a trusted friend, because our life and our relationship at the time hadn’t been stable and didn’t agree with a child. The documentation for a transfer in guardianship would be easy enough to fake; we have people for that. And we claim we had cut ties, to try and move on from having to give up our child, and once we found out his mother had passed…” she squeezed Harley’s hand gently, “we decided to take him back in, but refrained from doing so publicly to protect him from the trouble he’d gotten into with Oscorp.” Tony nods along, face hardening once more. “And with Pete, all we have to do is expose Richard’s unethical testing he had done and claim he had kidnapped our son in retaliation to our success, but we hadn’t filed a report because we didn’t want to risk the publicity it would bring and the danger that would follow it. It’d be a start to an end of Oscorp which means an end to Hydra’s supply of bio-weapons. Two birds; one stone.” She pauses and glanced nervously between Rhodey and her husband. “I think it might work… what do you two think?”

Tony’s hand lifts to his face and he slowly rubs his eyes as he processed.  Rhodey, though, he nodded vigorously, a resolute grin on his face. 

Then a grin fixed itself on Tony’s face as well and he laughed at the absurdity of it all. Loud and hearty with his head thrown back and his eyes watering with tears. His wife was a force to be reckoned with. A swindling, deceitful businesswoman by all counts and he _loved_ it. He knew he married her for a reason.

“I think, if we do it right… we might be able to pull it off.”

Pepper smiles, pursing her lips to control the tears.

Harley remains silent and Tony notices and he feels a sense of dread fall over him. So, he purses his lips for a moment before dropping his head to stare at his lap.

But then he lifts his head and fixes his gaze on the boy sitting opposite his wife once more. He braces his elbows on his knees as he leans forward and he nods his head slowly. “We’ll do that for Peter…” he trails off, watching Harley’s face carefully. The kid’s neutral face fell into crumbled frown and Pepper immediately began throwing a fit, but Tony cut her off. “--and I’d love to do the same with Harley. I wouldn’t want anything more than to keep him here with us,” he keeps his gaze fixed with Harley, “ _but_ I think he deserves a say in what happens this time.”

Harley gulps, nostrils flaring. “I-I-I um…” He squeezes Pepper’s hand.

“This would be a permanent solution kid… you’d be a Stark. Things are gonna change and you’re gonna get a lot of attention; more bad than good. And I don’t want you resenting us for trying to take the place of your family. But just realize… if we don’t do this… you’re going to have to leave the country, and you won’t ever be able to come back. I-I’d give you plenty of money to help you get by for the rest of your life just about and I’ll send a few guys to watch your back, but… we’d have to cut ties completely. I just want you to think about it-”

“I-I mean… I’m not gonna be a huge fan of-of being thirteen again, but I think it's by far the best option!” Harley blurts immediately. The boy isn’t sure if it’s the prospect of leaving New York and being all on his own, or if it was leaving the family he’d found… Hell, he knew exactly which one it was… but he still wasn’t ballsy enough to admit it yet. Not even after all that has happened and all the icky emotional confessions.

As soon as the words left his mouth, he quickly pulled himself away from Pepper to put some distance between himself and the couple next to him. He stared down at the hands clasped in his lap. 

“Good,” Tony nods, sitting up straighter. “I’ll have FRIDAY send a list of instructions down to legal and I’ll start making a few calls. I’m not comfortable leaving you up here by yourself right now Pepper so I’ll stay up here for today.”

That’s when the arguing began. The couple go back and forth, voices raising and points becoming quite outlandish. Even Rhodey seemed to have an opinion that needed to be voiced. Things started to escalate for a moment, but Harley jumped from the couch a bit too eagerly before it could. “I can stay back with Mom.”

The entire room fell silent and for a short moment Harley feels smug with the way he was able to silence three of the most powerful adults in the world by simply speaking… but then realizes what he said and he pales, immediately backtracking with stutters and excuses.

“I-I-I uh meant, actually, um-- I meant Pepp-- well I mean, it’s good to get into character, uh, right? Y’know… so I can, like… um get used to it?”

Tony fights off his amused smirk and the giddy warmth in his chest with a cough, and he tries saving the kid some embarrassment by playing along. Pepper, though, she looked on the verge of a breaking down into happy tears. 

“Makes sense. You do you, kid.”

Harley nods stiffly, eyes still blown wide and shoulders stiff as he fought to look nonchalant. “But, um… yeah. I can just stay here-”

“No,” Tony shakes his head. “You’re going downstairs with Rhodey to help fix this mess and brainstorm the best way of addressing these threats with the Club Heads and get everything running smoothly.” Then Tony turns to Rhodey with a meaningful nod of his head towards Harley and a look in his eyes. “Don’t let ‘im take any crap from anybody. He’s gotta learn.”

Rhodey nods his head. “How would you like the work split?”

Tony rubs his head in thought, eyes squeezing closed and teeth gritting together with a short hiss. “Put Hogan and Romanoff in charge of the new guys. I want each one tested and questioned with Bruce’s safe new knockoff of Oscorp’s narcoanalytic drug. I don’t want anybody walking around by themselves until they’ve been given a direct all clear from Hogan, you, or myself… have Wilson sit in with them. He used to be a shrink… he might have a few tricks up his sleeve. And I want Coulson and his soldiers on floor 15 and lock it down. If they’d like to leave the Tower for good, by all means let ‘em go, but I do not want them coming back or wandering around my building unattended with all this going on.” Rhodey voices his agreement with a grunt. “As for you… I want you to contact Rogers again; make sure things are going straight and find out if there’s any word from Barnes about Ross. As far as I’m concerned, that bastard’s the real Hydra-man and he’s just trying to knock us off his trail. So, I want you to start building up a strike team and have them ready by the end of the week in case Ross or Hydra decides to attack. You’re already transferring the weapons and such offsite, correct?” 

Rhodey nods.

“Good. I want at least 20 guys at the warehouse at all times--”

“Make sure they grab my art collection down in the basement,” Pepper chimes in helpfully. 

“Yes, and Pepper’s art collection. And maybe have one of our SI trainers lead an assembly for the new guys. They need to know how to act as legitimate employees, and what they’re place is, in case the Tower’s raided. Also, give a quick reminder to the Omerta oath. Some of these new guys aren’t quite as acquainted with the rules as they should be, and they need to be ready in case Rogers and his guys get booted.”

“Is that all?”

Tony’s eyes crinkle in contemplation. “Well, in case I can’t get JARVIS up and running again tonight, I’ll need you to check in with our Italian factions and have them prep my mansion in Venice and get one of my new stealth jets ready. That’s all I can think of off the top of my head. Do whatever else you feel is necessary though; it’s possible I could have missed something.”

“Great,” Rhodey nods affirmatively, standing from his perch on one of the kitchen stools. He juts his chin at Harley and nods towards the elevator. “Let’s go kid.”

Harley leaps forward after him, eager to please. He pauses in the elevator though when he hears Tony call out to him. “No wandering kid. Stick to Rhodey.”

Harley nods without a word and the doors close. 

As soon as they’re gone, Tony pivots his waist to face Pepper. As much as he wants to finalize everything with legal, he knows they’d be able to work through the job without his direct insight. All they’d need were instructions and the rest would be history. If he went down there personally, he’d be roped into every legal debate that needs to be handled and he’s just really not in the mood.

“I’m gonna stay here--”

“No,” Pepper growls, “You’re going.”

“Pepper I’m not going to leave you up here by yourself--”

“Anthony Edward Stark you better get your ass down to Legal right now and fix this mess before I get up and do it myself. Is that what you want?” She settles him with a scathing glare.

Tony does his best to return the glare, but he’d never been particularly good at arguing with Pepper. He deflates, shaking his head in abject amusement at his own powerlessness when it came to his wife. 

“Good,” Pepper hummed, chin in the air as she looked downwards at him, rubbing a hand over her stomach, “I have adoption papers filled out in our rooms. Take those down to legal and have them start working with the latest information. Then have your Scott guy do the identities please and get in contact with Helen and have her handle the blood tests.”

Tony chuckles. “Yes ma’am.” He stands from the couch and slowly trudges towards their room down the hall to retrieve the papers Pepper had been speaking of.

***

“Sir, how do you propose we introduce this to the courts and the public?”

Tony twines his fingers together and settles the man across the table with a stern glare. “I believe that’s actually your job Mr. Meyers.” He’s so ready for this to be over. It’s important, yes, but it seemed they were just talking in circles by this point. None of these Harvard summa cum laude idiots seemed to know what they were doing. He didn’t know if they were nervous or what, but Pepper was the one to always interact with them and she swore by their intelligence and creativity… he’s yet to see proof of that.

His knee began to bounce rapidly beneath the table, and he grit his teeth together to quell his irritation. 

The man stutters helplessly, glancing around the long table at his compatriots for any help, but none offer any to him. They all seemed to be scared shitless and typically Tony would preen at the thought, but right now he was just pissed. He knew he should have just stayed upstairs with Pepper.

“W-well um, Mr. Stark. I believe it would be best to make a public statement. You’ve been trying to avoid attention ever since SI has cut off their deal with the U.S. government and people are beginning to question if you’ve suffered a mental break. That way the announcement could not be altered in any way when reports came from the courts.”

Tony didn’t let his internal shudder show. “So… a press conference?”

A grey-haired, somber woman spoke up next. “I don’t believe that wouldn’t be wise, sir. That would allow opportunity for a public arrest and we’d like to avoid that at all costs.”

Tony narrows his eyes and leans as far forward as his sore body would allow. “So, what are you suggesting I do then?”

This just might have gotten a little interesting… but he won’t admit it.

“Well… sir, a live broadcast may do the trick--”

“You mean like the one Hydra-man pulled on everyone?”

The woman’s head bobs up and down and Tony finds a wide grin splitting across his face. He doesn’t know why, but the thought of stealing the man’s idea makes him giddy. Maybe all these over-payed idiots weren’t total quacks after all.

“It would be a quick and straightforward way to claim your relations to the two boys and calm the rumors before they get too out of hand with the general public.”

Tony nods and stands from his chair, eyes glinting with mischief. The potential was endless. He opens his mouth to voice his undying approval, but he’s interrupted by the door being thrown open by a screaming toddler and a frustrated young man. Allen had his grip on the back of the boy’s shirt as the demon-child screamed at him, red in the face, as he twisted his body in every direction so fervently that he had somehow ended up tangled in the fabric of his shirt. Allen didn’t seem all that amused with the dramatics. 

“Sir, Mrs. Stark wished you to babysit Peter. She said she needs to rest, and that Peter is being particularly grumpy this morning.”

Peter twists to look up at the man with the hold on him. “IIII NOT GRUMMMPYYY!” He screeches, mouth wide open and pale face a bright red. The kid immediately returns to his frantic thrashing.

After Tony gets over his initial shock, he grits his teeth together and glances around the room of baffled lawyers. “Peter!” He hissed, nostrils flaring in anger as he stormed away from the table to approach the pair of newest arrivals.

Peter only screamed louder, throwing his head back to release a particularly high-pitched shriek. 

Allen releases his shirt just as Tony grabs him, picking him up and holding tight as he struggled to keep the fighting toddler in his arms. It killed his knee and his ribs weren’t so happy, but he clamped a hand over the boy’s open mouth anyways and fixed him with a stern glare as he made his way outside the meeting room and into the deserted hallway for some privacy. 

Peter screamed from behind his hand, and Tony wasn’t having it. He used the arm holding him to clap him sharply on his thigh. Not enough to hurt, but enough to jolt him out of his angry tirade of screams. It worked and Peter stopped instantly to fix the man with a look like he couldn’t quite believe the man had smacked him. 

“Peter,” Tony spoke sternly, “you know better than that. You can’t be screaming like that just because you're in a bad mood, understand?” 

Peter’s tiny lips curl into a hateful snarl and he shoves Tony’s shoulder, but it does nothing but piss Tony off even more. Before Peter could start up his screaming again, he looks around in search of a place to sit before his knee gives out and they both end up on the floor. He finds a seat, sits down and places Peter in his lap. 

The kid immediately starts trying to climb away and when Tony’s hold on him only tightens he screams, loud and shrill. Tony winces and Peter’s almost able struggle out of his hold, but he grits his teeth and takes a firm hold of the boy from beneath the arms and lifts him to place him back down on his lap firmly. “No, none of that. Look at me.” He grabs the boy’s chin and tugged roughly to force the boy’s eyes to settle onto him.

He’d never had to get rough with Peter ‘cause the kid had always been so good… 

Peter tugged his head away from Tony and turned to fix his gaze on a wall to the right of them stubbornly. He crossed his tiny arms over his chest and hmphed. 

At least he’d stopped screaming.

“Peter,” Tony tried again with a softer voice and an exasperated sigh. He didn’t want to make matters worse when he and the kid were already on such rough terms. “C’mon Bubba, tell me what’s wrong.”

Peter’s chin only lifted defiantly, and his little nose twitched.

Tony sighed again and slumped slightly in his chair. 

“I wan’ Mama,” Peter eventually grunted without sparing a glance towards Tony. 

Tony rolled his eyes, because _of course_. He remembered when _he_ used to be the favorite.

“Well Mama’s not feeling so great right now, so why don’t you hang out with me for a while, hm? You used to love it remember,” he nudged the little boy’s side slightly and Peter only wiggles away, keeping his gaze fixed on the wall and his arms firmly crossed over his chest. 

Tony rolled his eyes at the kid’s theatrics. It was kinda cute if he was being totally honest. He found the corner of his mouth beginning to quirk up and he had to bite down on a chuckle. It reminded him of those funny videos Pepper would make him watch all the time of little kids being total grumps to their parents for some absurd reason. He just wished that the kid was mad at him for an absurd reason instead of a perfectly reasonable one.

Then he realized the kid was sitting with him without screaming his goddamn mind out, so that must be progress, right? 

Then he got this weird ticklish feeling in his chest like someone had grabbed his heart, tied it to a balloon, and now it was floating in the sky. He felt giddy and tingly and he didn’t know if it was the prospect of Peter forgiving him, or the relief of everything slowly being worked out. 

He doesn’t know what overcame him, but he poked the kid again, right where he knew Peter was most ticklish. 

Just as he predicted, the child released a joyful screech and writhed away. Tony poked him again, and again, and again as his grin grew wider, and wider, and wider. “See I knew my happy little boy was in there somewhere,” Tony crooned with a muffled voice as the boy swatted at his hands with shrieks and belly laughs falling from his beaming mouth. “I knew tickles were your weakness,” he continued, pulling the boy closer to assault both sides with tickles and blow a big raspberry against his cheek.

“Stooooop!” Peter squealed with delight; pudgy hands placed on either of Tony’s cheeks to shove his face away as the man pressed prickly kisses across his face. “Daddy stop!” 

Tony grins so wide he isn’t able to continue his onslaught on the boy’s face, so he drops his head further and Peter’s shoulder rises to his neck with a high-pitched squeal as he attempts to protect his sensitive skin from Tony’s prickly beard as the man blows another raspberry against his sensitive neck.

He pulls away and allows his kid’s laughing to peter down into breathless giggles. “See,” Tony preened proudly, “I knew you still liked me.”

Despite his smugness, he felt an immense amount of relief knowing that not all hope was lost where it came to Peter. And if he was being honest, he sorta missed the hugs. Like… he really missed the hugs. And the kisses. He totally missed the kisses. And the early morning wake ups? Gosh… he missed those too. Granted, it’s only been a couple days, but still! He just wanted things to go back to the way they were.

Sadly, though, at the reminder that he had been mad at the man, Peter turned away and stubbornly returned to his pouting, indignant gaze immediately returning to the wall.

The actions didn’t deter the man though, and instead he chuckled and rolled his eyes, gently lifting the boy off his lap and lowering him back to the ground. “Alright enough glowering. I get it. I’m the worst human being on the planet.” Peter doesn’t grace him with a response.

Tony shook his head in exasperation and readied himself to stand with each hand braced on either arm of the chair. He grimaced as he stood to his feet, immediately cursing himself for so stupidly forgetting his cane in the meeting room while he rushed out. Peter must have heard his sharp hiss because the boy’s upper half slowly twisted around to glance up at him with big worried eyes that quickly reverted into his menacing pout once Tony glanced down at him.

“You ‘kay?” His brows remained furrowed, but Tony couldn’t help but find his masked concern humorous.

“Yeah, Bug. Dad’s just got a bum knee.”

The furrow in Peter’s brows disappeared and his stern glower melted into worried concern. “Cuz-cuz you got hurted savin’ Ha’ley?”

Tony nodded with a chuffed sigh, leaning most of his weight on his good leg. Heck, he needed to stop taking dives out of car windows. He wasn’t that young anymore.

He limped forward several steps, having faith that Peter would follow him despite his abnormally sour mood. But instead of grumpily stomping along behind him like he had expected, Peter uncrosses his arms slowly and approaches Tony with a wrinkled nose and a contemplative downturn of his mouth. He reached out and grabbed Tony’s hand gently, then tucking close to his side to place the man’s hand on his opposite shoulder and stretching to wrap his own tiny arm around the man’s waist as if he were planning to support his weight. “I help you then.”

Tony pressed his lips together to try and contain his laughter.

“Thanks kiddo.” 

***

Steve tugs on the collar of his trench coat and pulls down on his cap to avoid the onslaught of rain pouring from the greying winter sky. He grumbles under his breath as he plods along with the crowd of New Yorkers through Time Square, trampling through puddles of dirty water and passing by beggars taking shelter beneath storefront canopies only to be shooed off by the grumpy business owners.

He loves New York; he really does. Sometimes it’s just a bit _too_ much though.

He gets clipped in the shoulder more than once as he walks, which only seems to spur his frustration. He spent an entire morning trying to clean up Tony Stark’s mess, then he spent an entire afternoon getting chewed out by the Commissioner. Apparently, even though Hydra hadn’t been able to prove his affiliation with Stark, it was still a bad look. So now the FBI is taking over all the cases involving Stark and Rhodes was beyond pissed with him about it. _As if there was something he could do!_ It wasn’t his fault Hydra tried to discredit him on live television. And of course! Lo and Behold! He’s now got a chaperone until everything gets cleared up. And of course, the man they picked for the job was none other than his crackhead of a lieutenant Ben Reilly.

Either way he had plans to speak with Bucky about it later that night because goodness knows he needs to vent to somebody. 

Something about the man’s sickly eagerness made his spine tingle. 

Either way, Steve was glad to get out of the stuffy precinct and go home for the day. He let his frustration be washed over with the relaxing thoughts of kicking back on the sofa and sketching in his notebook as he watched the evening news. Maybe even brew a nice pot of tea as well.

The flashing lights from the neon-esque billboards ahead and the honking of horns disrupting the heavy chatter of people as they talked on their phones. It all gave him a headache.

He just needed to grab his dry cleaning so he could hail a taxi and go home. But of course, as always, he was interrupted by Tony Stark’s insistence for attention. 

Crowds of people were stopping and screaming, pointing up at the large screens littering the sides of buildings. Cars stopped and people stepped out into the streets to stare up at the monitors illuminated with the wide smirk of Tony Stark. Steve groaned and pressed a hand to his face. 

He should have never told Stark to keep his head low. He should have known better than that. 

“ **Hello New York!** ” He greeted, throwing his arms in the air.

The usual hustle and bustle of New York froze. Steve’s never heard it so quiet.

“ **And I believe we’ll be welcoming Japan here soon-- oh! There you are.** ” The man’s attention was directed to the left of the screen. “ **Oh hello,** ” his voice rose to a playful pitch, “ **looks like we’ve got Hong Kong too. Hey there guys.** ” His smirk only seemed to grow the more he spoke. “ **I think we’re waiting on a couple more before we officially start. My tech guy is runnin’ kinda slow this evening, so bear with me please.** ”

Laughter rippled over the crowd, but Steve couldn’t help but roll his eyes. Only Tony Stark would treat hacking and broadcasting onto every private TV screen from NY to Japan as a Facebook Live.

“ **Alright there we go** ,” Tony looked back at the camera with a smile, then looked off to the side again, “ **I think that’s everyone, so… Hello World! In case you didn’t know—heck who am I kidding, you all know I’m Tony Stark. Just felt the need to clear a few things up, y’know, about what happened a couple mornings ago. And I got a timer,** ” he reaches over to grab a clock counting down from 4:32. “ **My dearest wife told me I couldn’t go overboard and gave me a five minute time limit, ‘cause apparently people got things to do and whatever. So, I won’t be taking up too much of your time.** ” He rolled his eyes and put the clock back to wherever he had grabbed it offscreen. “ **Anywho, first things first, those two kids you saw… yeah, those are my kids. Peter and Harley. Apparently, people think I kidnapped them… so just a quick clarification: we did not. Kidnap them, that is. Those two are our pride and joy and we’re about to have another one, as you saw, to make it an official trio. We’re very excited. And if we’re being honest here, technically we _did_ kidnap Pete back from his kidnapper Richard Parker, but that’s a moot point that will eventually be addressed in court at a later time.**”  He shot a pointed look at the camera and leaned back.

“ **And speaking of court… just wanted to let whoever needs to know, know, that I’ll be outta town for about a month or so. My family needs a break. Too stressful here in New York, so--** ” there’s a soft crash that startles Tony from his spiel and he twists his body to point it in the general direction the noise came from. Then there’s a bit of mumbling and Tony smiles away from the camera as he speaks. “ **Daddy’s workin’ Buddy,** ” he mumbles, head and shoulders leaning out of frame as he spoke to who Steve assumed to be Peter, “ **I’ll be in soon. Go find Mama**.” 

Then with that he’s back in frame, grinning like a smug doofus. “ **Where was I-- Oh yes! About court. I was thinking February 26 would be a good date for me and my schedule. So long as the feds stay out of my business for the next month, things’ll go smoothly. So, that means don’t come a’snoppin’ without my permission or else you can kiss my cooperation goodbye. So, just behave and we’ll finally get to have that little hearing Ross, how’s that sound buddy?** ”

“ **As for Mr. Hydra-man** ,” his voice grows stern and his head lowers and cocks to the side to look up at the camera with a threatening glare. “ **I’m not overly fond of you threatening my family. You’ve caused quite the ruckus here at home and I’m not happy about it. So! Just a fair warning, stay out of my way, stay away from my family, and stay out of my city. You may think you got the upper hand, but just keep in mind that I’m always ten steps ahead.** ” His chin lifted and a sadistic smirk spread across his face. “ **So maybe rethink going against me next time, or at least be ballsy enough to actually show your face.** ”

With that statement, all the screens projecting the man’s own smirking face went black, flickered, and returned to whatever advertisement had been displayed upon it before. 

Steve’s jaw went slack, as did just about everyone else’s as they stared up at the screens. Then he quickly shook himself out of it and grabbed for his phone, releasing a hissed growl of frustration as he thumbs in the familiar number once more. 

“I’m gonna kill that man, I swear. All he does is make my life a living hell.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed that. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears went into this one. It's like pulling teeth I swear.


	27. Chapter 27

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's what you've all been patiently waiting for. 
> 
> Let the fluff commence!

“I can’t _BELIEVE_ this!” The man roared, slamming his fist on his desktop as bourbon splashed over the edge of the whiskey glass in his other hand. The wide TV that had once been illuminated across the room was momentarily cut to black before returning to the old-western he’d been watching before Stark’s surprise interruption appeared on screen. 

“Sir,” a timid young man standing idly beside his desk spoke, “would you care for me to contact Ross for you?”

The man was barely able to finish his inquiry before the sound of a loud BANG sounded through the room and he fell to the floor. A clean hole pierced his forehead, accentuated by the drips of crimson blood contrasting against his pale skin. The man behind the desk remained unbothered as he slowly lowered his revolver against the expensive wood of his desk once more and tipped back the last sip of whiskey into his mouth. He sneered, nose wrinkling, and teeth bared as the sharp burn from the large swig burned his throat, and he sighed as if the weight of the world had become too cumbersome to rest on his soldiers any longer. 

He glanced for only a moment at the lifeless body on his luxury carpet and the small pool of blood that was beginning to gather on the expensive fabric. He narrowed his eyes and reached forward to press for a call on his phone. 

“Joss,” he summoned, “I need you.” He growled in annoyance once more and reached for the stained-glass bottle on his desk to pour himself another couple fingers. 

The man summoned gracefully rushed into the room only a minute later, hands clasped behind his back and chin in the air as he waits to be spoken to. He hardly casts a glance to the body crumpled on the floor and he didn’t dare question it.

“A couple things,” The man says. Then he waves in the general direction of the corpse and takes a sip of his newly refilled glass. “Take care of him, then call for another retainer boy to take his place.”

Joss nods in compliance. “Of course, sir. May I ask what this one did to avoid future mishaps?”

The man in question hums noncommittally and spins slightly in his chair to face his black and white western once more, his once irritated frown replaced with the indifferent line of his lips. “He spoke without consent. Quite the nuisance, really… which reminds me… get in contact with Ross, I’d like to speak with him about Anthony’s latest announcement.”

“Right away, sir.”

* * *

“Peter! Stop struggling. I’m not going to let go of your hand so you’re just gonna have to deal with it.” Tony tightened his grip on the kid’s hand. “We have to pick up Harley then we can go upstairs to see Mama and eat some dinner.” He stared ahead at the elevator doors as the lift slowly descended to the main room floor where Rhodey typically spent his time, and by extension, where Harley most likely was. Peter continued whining and trying to pry the man’s fingers from around his wrist and Tony could _feel_ himself losing his patience. The kid had done fairly good after his little episode that morning. He’d been a grump, of course, for the rest of the day, but at least he wasn’t screaming his head off anymore. 

Allen had fetched him a coloring book and the kid had sat, content, in the chair beside Tony as the man continued the meeting with his lawyers and later, PR. At some moments the kid would seem to forget he was supposed to be upset and he’d reach out to Tony for help or to request something only to pause abruptly as if he’d just remembered, then scowl and act as if he’d hated the man all along. Tony didn’t know if it was just an off day for the kid, or what. With the lack of screaming being replaced with mild distaste and seemingly very selective moments of independence, Tony was fairly certain the kid was only still mad at him because of his own toddler stubbornness. So, the kid probably just needed some time, and a nap too perhaps. A good nap is probably what he _really_ needed. Either way, Tony was getting a little fed up with the theatrics.

“Would you rather me carry you? It’s either hold my hand or be carried, kid. Your choice.”

A couple days ago, there would have been no question. Peter would’ve been jumping at his feet hours ago with his arms extended and lip jutted out in a pout, begging to be picked up and snuggled. But it wasn’t a couple days ago… It was today. And _today_ , the kid was going through some sort of drastic mood swing that he humbly took partial fault for.

Peter’s nose wrinkled as he turned his head up to glare at the man looking down at him, but he stopped his struggling. 

“That’s what I thought,” Tony grumbled with the hint of a triumphant smile peeking through. He hated to admit it, but he’s fairly sure he’s starting to get a handle on this whole “parenting” business. There had been no outburst; from him or the kid during the exchange, and it had all been handled in a calm yet firm manner. If anything, he’s pretty sure this whole day has just about prepared him for anything… on the tantrum front at least. 

So, he took a deep breath and forced himself to calm down. He reminded himself continuously that everything was slowly falling into place and there was no reason for him to feel stressed or angry. Everything was going to be fine. And with that final thought he was able to release the tension in his shoulders and lean more heavily against his cane as he waited for the doors to open with a newfound patience.

Peter was still brooding by the time their descent stopped and they were exiting the elevator. Tony isn’t distracted by the attitude much longer, because the commotion breaking out across the open room draws his attention instead.

The loud chanting, hoots, and hollering is followed by a distinct shattering, and Tony picks up his pace immediately.  All he can see is the backs of the group gathered near the community kitchen and he wanted to know what was causing such a noisy distraction to his men during such a time where each and every one of them should be working in one way or another. 

Peter stumbles along beside him, trying to keep up with his long strides as they approach the outskirts of the decent sized crowd.

Tony almost has to do a double take when he finds who was drawing all the attention. Harley was standing on top the counter with a long plastic launcher tucked to his shoulder. A wide, shit-eating grin spread across his youthful face as he raised his hand towards the crowd in a wide gesture. 

“Throw another!” He commanded with a smug smirk and at that moment Tony just had so many questions. One, what the hell was that thing the kid was holding? And two, since when did his angsty, reserved teenage kid enjoy being the center of attention. Before Tony had proper time to process those two, a pristine white plate went throttling into the air and another entire realm of questions assaulted him. 

Harley shoulders the tube, aims, and fires all in the course of a couple seconds. A large brown blur is ejected from the launcher, shattering the plate into tiny pieces as it rained down on the crowd. The lump continues flying though, and hits the wall with a loud thump, and it isn’t until it slowly bounces along the floor that Tony identifies it as a potato.

The kid had a potato launcher… Tony didn’t know what to feel.

Peter points to it with a curious cock to his head. “Is that potato?” 

“Yep,” Tony deadpanned. He wasn’t sure what his reaction to this situation should be. Should he be concerned the kid had somehow either smuggled a potato gun from the outside or built it himself? Should he be angry the kid was distracting his men from doing their jobs? Or should he be goddamned proud that his kid had such good aim and the Stark flair for attention and dramatics? He supposed he spoke too soon when he said he had a handle on this `parenting’ thing. 

He staggered just a bit as he reached down to scoop up Peter while he was distracted and before the boy had a moment to properly process the action and throw a fit. Tony steadied himself with his cane and began shouldering his way through the crowd, not bothering to avoid whacking some of the guys’ shins with his cane as he pushed through. “Outta my way!” He shouted. At the sound of his voice, the entire crowd seemed to rise to attention, and they parted like the Red Sea did for Moses. He still wasn’t sure if he should be angry or proud and he supposed he should figure it out fast because he was almost to the kid.

He thinks he might be angry.

He wasn’t angry at Harley; not at all. Heck, if it weren’t for the crap-ton of work that needed to get done he’d probably be celebrating and shouting alongside everyone else. He’d never been one to _not_ enjoy some harmless destruction. Nope, he was mad for two reasons. One… where the _hell_ was Rhodey? He was supposed to be watching the kid, and he’s quite sure that this scene right here didn’t constitute as “watching the kid” (Happy, by far, was a much better babysitter apparently. Tony’d have to keep that in mind). Two, there was work to be done! There was so much shit that needed to be taken care of and all these idiots were standing around, chanting and hollering as some kid fired potatoes at expensive dinner plates!

Stockpiles of drugs and weapons needed to be transferred to the warehouse upstate before the Feds throw Steve off the case and get involved. Those Feds are sure to jump at the opportunity to take him down by any means. They’ve been biting at the bullet since SI ended their military contracts, and he doubts they’ll wait more than a day. Which means he needs to get on top of streaming that video and set some ground rules for them before they decided to come busting in and ruin all his plans. But his tech guys need to get a handle on everything and he needs to fix up JARVIS before they could even think about taking the risk of spreading him so thin by hacking into every country at once… and that just added to his long to-do list of things in need of doing ASAP. 

He needed eyes on the streets 24/7 too. JARVIS was down and it was all hands on deck. He needed to make sure the city maintained order while he licked his wounds. He couldn’t let Hydra and all the other pesky criminals think they can go on doing what they please just because he’d been called out. Nu-uh. He needed to maintain authority, or else he might not get it back when this whole mess was over. They were in dangerous territory; compromised and barely standing on both their legs (and that wasn’t just a metaphor for his bum knee either). Hydra was targeting them and that’s not child's play. Not like it was with Oscorp and Ten Rings. 

And the more he thought about it, the more pissed off he was at these idiots all standing around and cheering like it was the end of a war instead of the start of one!

Tony’s sure to hide his anger though. Goodness knows he didn’t need to lash out with both the kid’s present. Not when their relationships were already rocky because of his previous lashing out… he’ll just have to save that for later.

The kid caught eye of him and his body pivots to face his direction. His face lights up at the sight of him, looking like an honest to goodness kid for once in his life… that kinda made Tony crack a smile. “Tony! Did you see that? 9 outta 10!”

Tony reaches the edge of the counter and smiles up at him. “Sure did. You got a nice aim, kiddo.” He sits Peter on the expensive granite beside Harley when the kid started squirming and Tony glanced out at the crowd. “Get outta here! Go do your goddamned jobs before I throw your asses outta this Tower for being useless piles of shit! We don’t got time for lollygaggin’!” 

Harley seems unperturbed and uses the toe of his shoe to poke Tony in the shoulder and get his attention. 

“Does that mean you’ll let me practice now--”

“No,” Tony responded firmly, watching as the crowd of idiots scattered, “You’re thirteen. Five more years to go.” 

“Thirteen?! Are you kidding? You can’t possibly be serious! It’s not even on paper yet! I knew you were going to do this. I can’t believe you.”

Tony rolls his eyes at the dramatics. “Yea, well, believe it kid.” He lifts his hand up towards him to help him down. “Now get down from there before you break your neck.”

Harley rolls his eyes back at him in exasperation and knocks the man’s hand away. He watches on sadly as his crowd of fans slowly disperses. “You’re such a worrier; thought you were s’posed to be the fun one. Even Rhodey said it was okay.” 

Tony’s brows furrowed. _Rhodey said what now?_

The kid still wasn’t making move to get off the counter, so he lifted his hand again. “I’m not gonna fall, okay.” Harley scoffed, knocking the hand away again and began to crouch down so he could climb down. “I’m _fourteen_ , I can climb on the counter without-- Whoa!” 

Peter’s hand fisted in his jeans knocked him off balance and before he knew it, he was nosediving towards the tile before he could get the proper footing to safely hop down. Thankfully, he was caught by a familiar strong arm wrapping around his waist and hauling him back on his feet. 

“Not gonna fall, my ass,” Tony grumbled, keeping hold of him until the kid pulled away.

“That-that was a slip-up. It was Peter’s fault!”

“No it wasn’!” Peter shouted, his puckered pout returning and his arms crossing over his chest defiantly once more. That seemed to be the kid’s go-to thing today.

“Alright, stop it,” Tony sighs, “it’s nobody’s fault, just calm down.” He plucked Peter up from the counter and placed him back on the floor. “Now where the hell is Rhodes? He’s supposed to be watching you.”

Harley grabbed Peter’s hand when he saw he was about to take off and looked up at Tony. “Happy came out like ten minutes ago sayin’ one of the guys has been lyin’, so Rhodey told me to stay here and show off my epic new potato gun that I was showin’ him earlier this morning. He said the guys needed something to lift their spirits ‘cause they're so high-strung and stressed out about Hydra. And then he went off with the guy and Romanoff to take care of him or something, ‘cause he didn’t want to bother you with it right then. Sooo, we just started shooting dishes and stuff once we ran out of paper plates. Everyone digs it… I think they like me now.” Harley looks up at him with a triumphant smile just in time to catch Tony’s grim frown. “All the guys said it was fine, though!” He quickly defends. “They said they do stuff like this all the time!”

“It’s fine kid,” Tony placates, “there’s just a lot that needs to be taken care of which means I’m not a big fan of idle activity at the moment. But you do know they liked you fine before you pulled out your fancy weaponry there.”

Harley doesn’t respond and scuffs the toe of his shoe against the ground.

So, Tony nods his head in the direction of the elevator and gestures for the two boys to follow, but Harley doesn’t budge, so neither does Peter. “Rhodey told me to stay put till he gets back.”

“Well I’m the Boss, so my orders trump his.”

Harley groaned. “And here I thought being your fake kid would make my life easier.”

“You thought wrong,” Tony responded, moving to brace his hand against the back of the kid’s neck and guide him towards the elevator. “Mom wants us all up for dinner and a movie tonight, so let’s go before she gets any more impatient.”

He’ll talk to Rhodey about this _later_. 

* * *

After dinner Tony had the honor of suffering through Peter’s newly developed aversion towards everything bath time. No amount of ducks or songs could lighten the boy’s mood as he sat in the bubble-less water and stewed, with his arms crossed, as Tony poured cup after cup of water over his head. 

Getting him dried and dressed was another venture in itself entirely. He could only take so much shouting before he lost his goddamn mind. So, he gave up halfway through and let the kid flee to the living room in search of his mother, decked out in nothing but his scooby-doo underwear and the bright pink socks he was for some reason infatuated with. Pepper hadn’t been so pleased with him, but he was sore and tired, and he wanted nothing more than to sit down, relax, watch a movie, and go to sleep so maybe… just maybe the ringing in his head might stop.

He sat back on the couch with his eyes closed, listening as Pepper read the boy a book from his growing Dr. Seuss pile lying on the coffee table. Peter was snuggled comfortably into her side, tiny hand stroking her belly bump. Then Harley joined them a few minutes later after he’d finished doing the dishes and listened to the remainder of the story. When they finished Pepper used the book to reach over and slap Tony in the leg so he would start their movie. He complied and cued up their movie then collapsed back into the cushions with a tired sigh… he knows he should probably be doing work, but he’s just so exhausted. He didn’t get an awfully long sleep last night. Not when Peter woke up screaming his bloody head off. The sleep was glorious while it had lasted though.

So, when he glanced over halfway through the movie to find Pepper trapped between the two cuddle-monsters she had created, he found himself growing a little jealous. He knew it was ridiculous because it was. If his father knew what he was thinking or feeling he’d surely be his way halfway through an hour beating already. Howard would have never put up with this cuddly mush.

He’s a softy now and he kind of resents himself for it… he’s disappointed that he’s allowed himself to become so vulnerable.

_“Stark men are not soft, Anthony.”_

He could feel the cold malice of his father staring down at him with a scowl and a shiver rippled across his skin even after all these years… but then he could feel the contrasting warmth of Peter’s tiny body laying across his front, or Pepper’s back pressed to his chest and the warmth of her belly beneath his hand. Even Harley’s fleeting touches and the rare hugs they’d share when the emotions in the room became just a bit too heavy to handle on their own. It was warm, and nice, and safe, and he’s reminded why he allowed himself to go so soft in the first place.

He supposed he could wait if he had too, because he’d work his way back there eventually. 

So, Tony leaned back into the couch and kicked his feet up on the coffee table as he closed his eyes. Whatever Disney song was being sung on the TV did just the trick for easing the tension out of his muscles and calming the thoughts running all through his head and if he accidentally slipped off to sleep with a peace of mind, nobody had to know.

* * *

“Alright boys, Mama’s gotta use the bathroom real quick,” Pepper whispered softly, nudging gently at the two boys draped on either side of her. 

Peter sits up blearily at the soft nudge, rubbing at his eyes and yawning like a baby kitten. He glanced over at the TV screen to notice he hadn’t missed much while when he dozed off and he smiled. Harley sat up too. He yawned with a hand covering his mouth as Pepper slowly starts pushing herself up from the couch.

“Ma, you need help?” Harley slurred, stumbling to his feet to help her up despite her insistence she could do it herself. He grabbed her hand and pulled her up gently then made move to wrap his arm around her waist and help her to the bathroom as well.

“I’m fine, Honey, I can make it to the bathroom myself,” she smiled, shooing Harley away.

Harley hesitated briefly. He felt conflicted. He didn’t want her to get hurt, but at the same time he didn’t want to risk making her upset with him; life was just beginning to work itself out and he was finally starting to feel happy again. So, he let her go by herself, sat back down on the couch beside Peter, and turned his attention back to the movie. 

Peter, on the other hand, looked like a zombie. Like he was going to keel over at any second and pass out.

“Ha’ley,” he groaned, turning to look at him with a pitiful pout on his lips as if the end of the world were upon them, “can we snuggle?”

Harley thinks about saying yes. He knows Peter was extremely dependent on physical contact, especially today for some reason, and the idea of denying him such a basic comfort that he himself craved more often than not nowadays seemed like such a jerk move. He felt bad for Peter, especially after all that had gone down with Tony. Peter had been so attached to the man, which had made his ‘betrayal’ that much more traumatic for him. The poor kid’s been consciously depriving himself of affection from the one person that could make it all better. Harley looked over to Tony only to find said person passed out and snoring up quite the storm. Then he got an idea.

“Why don’t you go snuggle with your Dad. He looks real comfy to sleep on over there doesn’t he? Lot more than me. He’s big warm marshmallow like Baymax. Look’t me, I’m all bone; no cushioning.”

Peter looks at him like he’s just lost his goddamned mind, and Harley isn’t so sure that he hasn’t. A couple months ago he wouldn’t be inserting himself into family conflicts like this, but he knew things wouldn’t truly be okay until the two who had started it all kissed and made up. He knows Tony’s ready to forget the past, and he thinks Peter is too… it’s just… the kid’s probably confused and unsure what to feel. 

Peter looks over at Tony, then back to Harley. “You mean _our_ Dad, right? ‘Cause-’cause we’re b’others. An-and ‘cause he didn’ hurt you. An-an he didn’ hurt our Mama.” He said it almost as if it were an inquiry. As if he were trying to confirm once more what both Harley and Pepper had told him before… like he had to make sure one last time before he allowed himself to fully forgive the man.

He hated that Peter kept bringing the Dad thing up. He was still kinda sour about thanks to Asher’s not so fun teasing a while back. And, really, it’s had only been a onetime thing. The guy hadn’t brought it up since. And heck, he shouldn’t really be bothered by it when it was coming from Peter either. The kid genuinely believed it; he couldn’t grasp the intricacies of his insinuation. To him it was simple. Either Tony was their Dad, or he wasn’t. Either he took care of them and loved them, or he didn’t. So, in this case Tony was more their Dad than not. 

So, considering all this… it’d probably be best not to confuse Peter because goodness knows if he tries and makes this any more complicated, Peter'd need more explanation and Harley was bound to dig himself into another hole trying to explain it.

“Yeah, that’s what I meant.”

Peter grinned at him, and without any more prodding he turned to crawl his way across the couch towards Tony. It only took a moment's hesitation when the boy reached his side. He sat back on his haunches and watched the rise and fall of the man’s chest, but then he fell forwards and braced both hands on his chest as he eagerly worked at lifting the man’s arm.

Tony stirred briefly at the sudden contact and frustrated grunting coming from his side as someone pulled on his arm. He smacked his lips and grunted as he stretched out his legs and waist before he finally realized what must be going on. “Mmm, hey kid,” he mumbled. He didn’t even bother opening his eyes. Instead, he just lifted his arm. Peter quickly wedged himself beneath the crook of his arm and pressed in close, propping his chin up on the man’s chest and looking up at his face with a small smile.

“Hi,” Peter chirped. For the first time that day, the boy actually sounded cheerful. Tony cracked an eye open and turned his head to look at him, a goofy smile pulling across his face as he lowered his arm to wrap around Peter in a warm hug. And that was followed by a big yawn as the kid turned his head, so his cheek rested comfortably on his collar, nose upturned to press against his jugular. A tiny arm snaked around his waist and the tiny fingers that accompanied it grabbed for the hem of his shirt, brushing the cold skin of the boy’s fingers against the warm gauze wrappings around Tony’s waist. Tony settled a hand on his back, humming in contentment at the warmth of the boy’s smooth skin.

Ironically, the comfortable weight of Peter lying on his chest threw away the weight that’d been pressing down on his shoulders ever since the event three days ago.

“So, I’m finally worthy of your affection again, kid?”

Peter lifted his head to look at him, blinking blearily and lifting his fist to kneed into one of his eyes as he yawned once more. His eyes closed then he nodded slowly with a soft hum and scooted closer so he could lay his cheek on the man’s shoulder. “Just till Mama gets back,” he answered softly. 

The hand fisted around the hem of Tony’s shirt lifted to grab onto his collar as the kid practically scooted his way into his space to lay on top of him. 

Tony’s chest rippled with the vibrations of his chuckle. He almost forgot just how cuddly this kid was. “So, I’m just your substitute pillow then?” 

“Yeah.”

Tony chuckles again and rubs his hand up and down Peter’s back as the boy curls closer to him. Then he twists his head to press his nose into the boy’s hair and he presses a chaste kiss to the mop of his still damp curls. He feels his throat tightening and his entire chest warming when he feels the kid’s loving nuzzle against his neck. His throat grows dry and soon the words are spilling from his mouth before he can stop them. “Yeah, well I still love ya, kiddo.”

Peter slowly lifts his head off his shoulder and blinks lazily at him with his wide doe eyes and a wobbly lip. And for a second Tony thinks he messed up again and he could feel his body already beginning to seize with panic. Which was ridiculous by the way! He should not be panicking over a toddler’s reaction to him saying ‘I love you’. He was a Stark! A man! A freaking mob boss billionaire for crying out loud. He swears, if his forefathers were able to, they’d disown him on the spot for being so sensitive and weak.

“Really? Even-even after I be bad? You-you were mad b’fore.” Peter whispered quietly into the small space between them, worrying his bottom lip between his teeth and effectively knocking Tony out of his breathless panic. One of Peter’s tiny hands lifted to place on the side of Tony’s face and Tony wasn’t sure how to respond… Of course he still loved the kid even despite the several tantrums throughout the day. If it had been any other child, Tony knows he would have handed him off and not bothered to interact with him again, but this was _Peter_ . He loved Peter… despite his best effort not to become attached. And it made him realize just how vulnerable he was allowing himself to become. Men like him weren’t supposed to get attached; it was against the rules. It opens himself to an entire new world of pain and worry. And if his father had been there with them, he wouldn’t hesitate in coaxing Tony into taking it all back, because it was dangerous. It was dangerous to love a tiny, helpless being so extensively, but Tony did. He loved Peter more than he’s ever thought himself capable of loving. Peter was his kid now… and he needed to tell his kid that he is loved because it sure messed _him_ the hell up not hearing it as a child. And he’d never wish that on Peter. He’d never make the same mistakes Howard did. He’ll be the good Dad Pepper tells him he can be.

And so, he swallows his pride, and ignores every notion he’d been taught growing up, and tells his kid the truth.

“Bug, there will be times when you get so mischievous and naughty that I can’t help but get mad at you,” Tony begins softly, swallowing around the growing rock in his throat as he brushes his hand through the curly bangs bouncing on his kids’ forehead. “I might even scold you from time to time, but that _never_ means I don’t love you.” He leans forward to kiss the center of Peter’s forehead softly and the boy leans into it, wrapping his arms around his father’s neck to keep close to him, and Tony doesn’t fight him. He kisses him several more times and moves his head, cheeks pressed together, so he could continue speaking. The more he spoke, the easier it was. Maybe he was delirious from sleep deprivation, but for some reason he was feeling ridiculously sappy as he slowly rocked the boy in his arms. “I love you more than life, kiddo, and I’d give you the world if I owned it.” He finished it off with a chaste kiss right above the boy’s ear and pulled him closer. 

Peter’s arms tighten around his neck, and his nose nuzzles into his collarbone, but he doesn’t respond… and Tony feels okay with that. 

Harley watched them both in a non-stalkerish kinda way. It was nice and sweet, and Harley still had to get used to _Tony Stark_ being a goddamned softy, but that was more than okay. He’s just glad Peter is finally learning to trust Tony again and he’s glad that maybe Tony won’t be as sad anymore. Because he doesn’t know what Peter or Pepper would have done if Tony would have gone through with his ‘attempt’. He’s only glad that he was able to help in some way to fix what both Peter and Tony obviously needed. 

Pepper returns a few moments later, but by then, both Tony and Peter were conked out again. Peter quite literally draped on top of him. 

She glanced over at the pair and smiled, and then she paused right before she reached the edge of the couch. Then she turned to look at Harley with a happy sparkle in her eyes and a careful turn of her head. 

“C’mon Honey,” she motioned for him to come closer. “You want the inside or the outside?”

Harley’s eyes widened… he didn’t really know what she meant by that. She didn’t really provide him with much context other than a peaceful smile and a hand wave. “Uhhh, outside?”

That must have been an okay answer because she grinned and sat back down on the couch, but this time pressed up against Tony’s side, nearly smushing the man into the armrest he sat beside, but he remained asleep. Then she grabbed the blanket laying across the back of the couch and began unfolding it as she waved Harley over and patted the empty seat on her other side.   

Harley hesitated, because of course he did. He glanced around Pepper’s body, towards Tony. The man was barely awake. He had shifted to accommodate Pepper, but that was the extent of it. Peter kept snoozing away on Tony’s chest, and Tony’s arms remained around him… Harley just didn’t want to intrude. Not when things were just starting to go back to the way they were supposed to be.

But then he looked back at Pepper, feet kicked up, and relaxed as she raised her arm out for him in invitation. He was supposed to be a part of the family. At least in the most literal of senses. So, he used that thought to fight off the stupid insecurities that have been making his life a living hell for most of his existence as Harley Keener, and he allowed himself to tuck in close to Pepper like he was a little kid searching for comfort from his mother… and he sort of was in a way. Pepper was his mom now. He was a kid… this was okay. Maybe Harley Stark could be different. Maybe he could be better, more confident in himself, stronger, smarter, braver, and more worthy of the family he was being given.

Pepper pressed a lingering kiss to his hair and hugged him tight as she leaned back into Tony’s side and fixed the blanket around her and Harley. Harley followed her, wrapping an arm around her waist and melting in the loving warmth he felt every time he was near her, trapping the comforting feel beneath the confines of their blanket. He could feel the warmth of Tony’s side brushing against the back of his hand as well, and for once in his life Harley felt like he might actually like sticking around for once.

* * *

After the movie finishes and the credits start to roll, Pepper looks on either side to find all three of her boys dead asleep and she smiled to herself as she urged the three of them awake. Tony groaned and growled like a pained animal, muscles taut from the uncomfortable sleeping position he’d succumbed himself too and the constant weight of Peter resting on his injured ribs. Peter hadn’t liked the excessive movements all that much and he grunted in annoyance, cheek pressed firmly against the center of Tony’s chest as he slept.

Tony has Harley help Pepper to their room and the boy happily obliges with a nod and a wide yawn as he untangles himself from the heavy blanket he and Pepper had been snuggled under for the duration of the film. Then Tony carries Peter to his room and tucks in the dozing child while still half asleep. He makes quick work of the usually drawn out ritual and makes his leave as soon as the boy is nestled comfortably beneath the blankets. His mind was still muddled and gooey from exhaustion and a very heavy dose of serotonin, but all he knew in that moment is that he wanted to go back to sleep. For once in his life he actually _wanted_ to go to sleep. He wanted to curl around Pepper, stroke her stomach, and drift off with his face pressed into her soft, honey-scented hair, and delve into a dreamless sleep to hold onto this blithe feeling of happiness that was sure not to last very long if he remained awake long enough to become fully aware of all that needed to be done. 

He ends up passing Harley in the hall on his way back to his room, offering the kid nothing more than a nod and tired “goodnight” as they brush shoulders and move onto their own beds. It doesn’t really cross his mind to help the boy to bed like he had done the other night; he doubts the teen would be very excited by that. He had made it extensively clear lately that he was not a ‘baby’ and he should not be treated as such. So, again, Tony didn’t think much of it and wrote off the kid’s conflicted frown as tired confusion.

When Tony woke up the next time it was Pepper again, this time kicking him in the shin. 

“Tony,” she hissed, blindly slapping his shoulder with the back of her hand. 

He blinked awake, suddenly on full alert. She sounded upset. Was something wrong? Something must be wrong for her to be up in the middle of the night! Pepper never woke up for anything. Was something wrong with the baby? Was she going into labor early?! She still had two months left!

“Peter’s crying,” she finished, before he could spiral too far. She grasped the bedsheets between her fists and stared at the bedroom door. 

Tony sat up, tension releasing in his shoulders. He glances towards the door, then back at Pepper. He couldn’t _hear_ Peter. He squinted at her and cocked his head to the side, wondering why she was even bothering with waking him up when she could take care of it herself. She’s never bothered with him before… then he realized that she wasn’t supposed to move around much, and she wanted him to go and take care of whatever it was that had Peter in such a panic she could hear his distressed cries from the room over… but he still couldn’t hear anything.

Then he hears it. It’s a piercing cry that breaks through the silence of the room, and a panicked tremor thrums through his chest. 

_“Daddy!”_

Tony jumps from the bed and grabs his zip up hoodie without even bothering to grab the cane he had propped up beside the bed; it would do nothing but slow him down and get in his way. He doesn’t really leave himself time to wonder why Harley wasn’t already up and bringing Peter to their room like he did all the times before -- surely the kid had woken up from Peter’s loud cries. So, he pushes his arms into the sleeves of his hoodie and rushes down the hall, steps growing heavier and more urgent the closer he got to the boys’ door. Peter did _not_ sound happy. And it wasn’t his usual screaming that he’d been doing all day either; the boy sounded terrified. 

And if his sobbed shouts of “Daddy! Daddy! Daddy!” were anything to go by, Tony could only assume the child felt imminent danger.

He threw open the door and rushed into the room, slightly illuminated by the nightlight beside the boy’s toddler bed.

“Peter,” he breathed softly. He crouches down beside the bed and grabs the child before his screams could grow any louder. “Hey Petey, look it’s me.”

Peter’s eyes remained screwed shut and his mouth remained open as another terrified wail escapes him followed by gasped sobs as he replenished his lungs with air. It’s followed by a soft keening, tamped down with a tight chest and repressed sobs.

Tony squeezes him against his chest in a tight embrace, cradling the kid’s head with the back of his hand and pulling him close. That’s when Peter finally begins to die down. Tony sits down slowly on the edge of the bed and keeps Peter firmly cradled against his breastbone.

“Daddy,” Peter whispered, voice quaking to match the harsh trembling engulfing his body. His tiny arms snake around Torso torso threading into the space between the warm fabric of the man’s hoodie, and the soft cotton of the man’s sleep shirt. He lets the cloth and the man’s arms encompass him as he releases another harsh sob, pulling closer so he could muffle it against the man’s broad chest. “Daddy,” he cried again, sobs now mingled with relief.

Tony kisses the top of his head and holds him close. He hates his child being in distress, but he’s giddy with the understanding, once again, that his child still loves him. His child called on him for protection and comfort. His child wanted _him_. “Daddy’s right here Bubba,” he hums softly, rubbing his hand down the boy’s shivering back. “Now tell me what made you so upset, huh?”

Peter’s nose presses into his sternum as the boy scrambles to find a firmer grip on him. His little body wracked with sobs and for a moment Tony was genuinely worried that he had accidentally sent the child into another panic. “Bubba, just tell Daddy what’s wrong. Daddy can fix anything, remember.”

Peter’s staticky nod is followed by a short series of hiccups. Tony kisses his hair again and lays his cheek there. “Tell me what’s wrong, Bug-a-Boo.”

“I-I-I got hurted by-by my mean Daddy!” Peter eventually forced out, which was quickly followed by another sob-fest. “An-an-an’ I woked up in bed, but-but JA’VIS wouldn’ answer me. An-an-an Ha’ley wasn’ here eit’er, so-so-so I thought you mighta gived me back to my mean Daddy while I was ‘sleep!” He turns in the embrace to point towards the empty bed pushed up against the wall across the room.

Tony stands abruptly. He holds Peter close, but he steps closer to the bed Harley’s been sleeping in the few nights he’s stayed in the penthouse. He does his best to soothe Peter with back rubs as he inspects the area. He stares at the rumpled mess of sheets on the empty bed. He couldn’t help but worry. What if the kid had run off again? It wasn’t like JARVIS could have informed him this time either… Hell, he really should have just sucked it up and updated JARVIS before he went to bed. 

Apparently, his reassuring touches weren’t enough to soothe the child and Peter only sobs harder.

“P’ease don’ give me back Daddy! I sorry. I so, so sorry!”

Tony is snapped back to reality, attention diverted from the bed and back to the boy in his arms.

“Sorry for what Bubba?”

“I didn’ say I love you when I do! I so sorry! I love you too Daddy; I don’ hate you no more. P’ease don’ give me back to my bad Daddy.”

Tony’s heart knots together as Peter squeezes him tighter-- as if he were afraid the man would let him go and hand him back to his bastard of a father. 

“Never, Bubba,” Tony whispers. “You never have to worry about seeing that man again. You’re staying right here with me. Don’t you remember what I said… I don’t care how angry you get at me, or how many mean things you say… me and Mama will still always love you; forever. Do you understand?” 

Peter’s nod is shaky, but it’s a nod either way.

“Good. Now do you wanna come sleep with me and Mama tonight.”

Peter’s nod this time was more emphatic and Tony chuckles. If Peter hadn’t been so hysterical, he could have believed this was the boy’s plan all along.

“Cuddles are good,” Peter nodded sagely with a quiet sniffle.

“Alright, Buddy. Now, don’t let this habit become any more of a habit.” Tony chuckles and starts for the door, knowing good and well that he and Pepper were major enablers to this kid’s dependency on them. Heck, the kid’s had to be independent his whole life, Pepper and him were just helping the kid make up for lost time. He grabs one of Peter’s small blankets from the bed on his way out and tucks it around the kid as he makes his way to the door. “Now, I’ll leave you with Mama while I go off to find where Harley wandered off to.”

Peter scrambles against his chest in a panic, “No Daddy, no!” He instantly devolves into pitiful cries once more. “Don’ leave me, p’ease.”

Tony’s surprise at the sudden outburst has him squeezing the boy tighter before he drops him, whispering quietly in his ear as he holds the kid’s head in place against his collar. “Okay, okay. Calm down. You can come with me.” 

Peter instantly quiets down. He rests his head on Tony’s shoulder and slackens in the man’s arms. Tony rubs his back again and glances down the hall where Pepper was surely still awake and worried in their room. He still needed to find Harley though. The kid was probably more likely than not camped out on the couch, rather than wandering the streets alone… but he just needed to make sure just in case. 

“JARVIS…” he pauses when he remembers the AI had been shut down. “FRIDAY. Where’s Harley?”

“I apologize Boss, but I do not have access to the cameras on the penthouse level. Only Master JARVIS has such jurisdiction when circumstances are not dire.” Tony curses under his breath. That was why the AI hadn’t woken him up when Peter was in such distress. “Okay, okay. Then tell Pepper I have Peter, and that everything is fine and she should go back to sleep.”

FRIDAY grants him no answer so he can only assume she is relaying the message to his wife. So, he turns the opposite direction and heads down the hall, towards the large Living Room. 

“Lady Stark is insisting you bring Peter back to bed with you, Boss.” FRIDAY pipes up when he's just advancing past the threshold into the room.

“Tell her I will. I just have to take care of a little something first,” he whispers under his breath that time. He’d spotted the lump on the couch, hidden beneath the blanket Pepper and the kid had been snuggled under that evening. He sighs in relief and slowly moves towards the sofa.

Peter doesn’t make any noises beyond the periodic runny-nosed sniffs and soft whines, and Tony’s proud when he doesn’t grimace at all once the kid rubs his snotty nose all over his exposed collarbone. 

As he approaches, Tony notices the slight tremors emitting from the lump beneath the blanket. His worried frown deepens. The kid couldn’t possibly be cold… not with the heat on and the way he had smothered himself beneath that blanket...  

He crouches beside the sofa and immediately regrets it. His bad knee screams in protest, but it’d be too much strain to stand up again right away, so he adjusts and uses his free hand to brace himself against the cushions of the sofa as he stumbles slightly and drops his good knee to the ground with a pained grimace. Once he’s got his balance he reaches out and gently lays his hand on the shivering lump, unsure which end was up. The form immediately recoils at his touch, so he retracts his hand and his brows furrow together with worry. 

“Hey, kiddo. Wake up for me, yeah?” He’s not granted with an answer. So, he slowly reaches out to peel back one end of the blanket with careful hands. He ends up uncovering Harley’s enormous mass of untamed curls and continues pulling the blanket until the boy’s entire head could be seen. It isn’t until Tony sees the look on the kid’s face that his prediction was proved true. 

_Nightmares._

Apparently poor Pete wasn’t the only one plagued with bad dreams tonight.

Harley’s chin was tucked close to his chest, eyelids shut tight and lips pursed and pale as his chin quivered violently alongside his clicking teeth. 

Tony transfers Peter to his other arm. The kid whines and huffs but settles against his other shoulder despite. Then Tony reaches out to comb his freed hand through Harley’s wild hair. “Hey, munchkin,” he whispered softly, “it’s okay. Wake up.”

Peter’s head turns to rest his cheek on Tony’s collar so he could get a look at Harley. His face puckers in worry and his hands clench and unclench around the form fitting fabric of Tony’s tank. “Is-is Ha’ley okay?”

“Yeah, he’s just having a bad dream like you did, Bug. He’s okay.”

Peter’s nose returns to his sternum and Tony combs through Harley’s hair once more. 

“C’mon sprout,” His hand lingers when he reaches the nap of the boy’s neck. Four of his fingers thread through the thick mass of hairs at the back of his head, gently scraping along his scalp with blunt nails, while his thumb moves to brush along the boy’s prominent cheekbone. “You’re okay. It’s Tony.” 

For a moment Tony thinks he may need to go and get Pepper because he’s not sure how to handle this one. Peter’s easy: baby voice, hugs, cuddles, kisses, back rubs, and butt pats. That’s it. Harley’s different. Tony doesn’t know how to console a teenager who’s as emotionally constipated as himself, but Pepper would know exactly what to do. He barely makes move to stand and go fetch her when Harley shifts then recoils away as if suddenly startled. His eyes fly open and a heavy gasp is drawn into his mouth to kick off the ragged breaths that follow.

“T-Tony?”

“Yeah, Munch,” Tony smiled. He reaches out to cradle the back of the kid’s head fully so he could make the kid look at him. “You okay?”

Harley stared at him; eyes clouded over with a daze. His mouth fell open slightly, but no words escaped him. 

Tony patted his cheek softly. “Hey, look’it me.”

Harley does and he blinks again. 

“You okay?” Tony reiterates with a concerned quirk of his brow. 

There’s another sharp intake of air before Harley releases a pained “yes’sir”.

“Breathe kid,” He instructs gently, moving his hand to cup the side of the boy’s head instead. Wedging the kid’s ear in the space between his thumb and forefinger as he stroked the damp skin right beneath the boy’s eye.

He wanted to know what the dream was about; yet at the same time he didn’t. He wanted to know what could have elicited such a dazed reaction from the kid. He’d never seen Harley look so clueless to the reality around him. The kid was always so observant and quick. But Tony had a feeling of what it might be… and even the vague assumption had his heart beating fast and his throat tightening to accompany an angry growl. Rhodey mentioned Richard… if he found out Richard did anything more to scar his other kid too, that man would have hell to pay. He wouldn’t deserve death; not yet at least.

Maybe he _should_ just be left in the dark. He didn’t think he’d be able to control himself if Harley did ever tell him what really happened. 

Harley turned away from him and closed his eyes as he drew in several deep, calm breaths then released them just as calmly. “I’m fine,” he whispered softly. “I swear I’m fine; just had a crazy dream is all. Jus’ need to cool down a sec.”

Tony frowns and retracts his hand. “Is that why you’re out here on the couch? Did you have another dream earlier?”

“No,” Harley growled, lifting one of his hands to cover his eyes. “I’m out here ‘cause JARVIS ain’t working.”

“How is that relevant to you not sleeping in your own bed?”

“It’s not _my_ bed Tony. It’s not even my room. Nothing is _mine_ yet.”

Tony sighed. It was true in a way. Him and Pepper had been planning on clearing out the spare room days ago… but then all this shit happened, and things got somewhat postponed. Pepper had said she’d done plenty of shopping during her down time, including an entire new wardrobe for both kids, furniture sets, toys, books, and just about anything and everything she could think of. She’d also ordered a few more last-minute things for the nursery. So, all this _‘nothing’s mine_ ’ crap was about to change real soon. But, bed or not… he still didn’t understand why the kid felt the need to sleep out on the sofa.

“We’ll get back to that later. Now explain to me why you’re sleeping out here. You sent Pete into a panic when he realized you weren’t in the room. Me too. You did this before too… what’s with you and the couch kid? Do you not sleep good in the bed? ‘Cause if that’s the case, we can get you a better mattress. You just gotta speak up.”

“It’s not that…”

“What is it then?”

Harley still refused to look at him and Tony refrained from grabbing the boy’s chin and forcing his gaze onto him… that was what he did before he was a dad…

“Someone coulda snuck up here and nobody coulda told us. The rats could still be hanging around here somewhere.”

Tony fought back his amused smile. “Oh, and you think you coulda faced off against one of my guys with your shrimpy self?”

His amusement quickly falls away when he sees the kid’s downfallen expression. His breath was picking up again and… well… it might’ve been the lighting, but the kid’s eyes looked a bit glassy. “I’ve been watching YouTube,” he argues petulantly as if that were reason enough for his superior fighting abilities.

“It’s not your job to fight off the bad guys, kid. That’s my job.” Tony sighs, with just a little exasperation in his tone. 

“You-you said I gotta protect Peter an’ Pepper now. That’s _my_ job.” He turns his head to look at Tony, expression stern and undeterred. “She’s-she’s gonna be my new Mom… an’-an’ Pete’s my brother… It’s my job to keep ‘em safe. I won’t let ‘em get hurt.” 

Tony purses his lips and remains silent. He adjusts Peter in his arms and makes move to stand up. “Alright… I guess this calls for another one of those dreadful heart-to-hearts, huh?” He doesn’t stumble at all when he’s back on his feet, which must be a good sign.

Harley scrambles to sit up and scoot against the far corner as Tony takes a seat on the couch beside him, manhandling Peter so the kid’s cradled in his arms like a newborn baby, tucked close to his chest and legs dangling onto his lap. Peter isn’t at all opposed to the new position. He grabs for the edges of the hoodie and does his best to wrap them around his smaller body, pushing his body and Tony’s even closer for warmth. 

“Cold,” Peter whimpers pitifully, staring up at Tony with a small pout playing on his lips. 

“Cold huh?” Tony smirked. He arranges the kid to tuck him behind the lapels of his jacket, then zips it up halfway so Peter’s tucked close to him like a baby kangaroo nestled in his mother’s pouch. Tony can’t say that he hates it either. It was nice being able to be close to his kid again. 

Peter grinned up at him and his eyes slipped closed as he moved around to find the most comfortable position.

“You brats are too spoiled for your own good.” Tony wraps an arm beneath the bulge of his jacket, giving himself a moment to wonder if this was what Pepper felt like carrying their baby… then he gently rested his other arm along the back of the couch as a discrete invitation for Harley to join if he so desired. 

“And that’s our fault?” Harley mocked cheekily.

“I suppose I should take some credit,” Tony smirked.

He kept watching Harley. The kid had tucked himself into the corner, hands fisted around the blanket he’d been tucked under earlier. His knuckles were white, and his shoulders still shook with residual tremors despite the kid’s obvious effort to appear aloof to his terror.

“C’mere Buddy,” Tony discretely waved him closer with a few of his fingers. Harley obeys… kind of.

He scoots close enough that there’s a good two or three inches between them. His head was lowered to look at his lap again, but Tony decided not to push it.

“Does this happen to have anything to do with your mother and sister?”

Harley doesn’t answer him, but the slight flare of his nostrils was answer enough. Tony sighs and he lifts his hand to rub his eyes… he didn’t know how he should even begin to do this. How was he supposed to fix this?

“I know you feel responsible for what happened… and I don’t know the whole story yet, but I got a feeling you would have never put them in any intentional danger.”

“I didn’--” Harley’s voice starts out strong with an outburst, but he immediately trails off and hunches in on himself even more. “It was my job to keep ‘em safe… an-an’ I didn’t.”

“It shouldn’t have been your job Harley. You were barely twelve weren’t you?” The kid nods and Tony turns to look at the blank screen of the TV. “How old were you when your Dad left?”

Harley shrugs indifferently. “I dunno. Six maybe.”

“Wow… you were the man of the house for a long time then.”

“Someone had to be,” Harley grumbled. “Someone had to take care of my Ma and my sister.”

“You’re just a kid, Harley. You shouldn’t be responsible for something like that.”

“But I was responsible,” Harley bit out angrily. “After my father left, my mom got real sick. She got real angry sometimes… then real sad. And then she’d be happy again. She-she couldn’t hold down a job for nothin’. We lived off the checks my father would send, an-and me and my sister had planted a tiny garden in the backyard behind the garage so we’d have food when we didn’ have no money for groceries.” Harley’s grip tightened on the blanket and he lifted it so the hem was settled beneath his nose as he scrunched his eyes shut. “Then-then the checks stopped coming an-an’ I had to find a way to get some money… An-an’ I was stupid enough to go back to the guys my father ran away from in the first place…”

“Oscorp,” Tony finished for him, face etched with sympathy and an urge to gather the kid in his arms and hold him just like he was Peter… but the kid wouldn’t go for that. And it’d be weird too… him and Harley weren’t as close as him and Peter.

“Yeah,” Harley nodded lamely. “Yeah, Oscorp. Biggest mistake ever. I was s’posed to protect them and I ended up gettin’ ‘em killed.” 

“You were just a kid,” Tony repeated softly, bristling at the insinuation towards Richard’s role in the death of the kid’s family… but he does his best to hide it. 

“That’s not an excuse for killing my mother Tony,” Harley snapped. “If anything, it makes me even more of a monster! I was a kid! A twelve-year-old kid. I should’ve cried and begged and been a little wuss about it, but I shot her! I looked at her and I _shot_ her right between the eyes. Twelve years old and already a murderer. I’m not… I’m not gonna make the same mistake twice. I won’t let anything happen to Peter or Pepper. Ever. I swear it.” His shy gaze had morphed into grim determination with a downturned scowl.

Tony remained calm though and tilted his head downwards to settle him with a steady look. “That’s not your responsibility either, kid.”

“Of course it is. Pepper’s going to be my mother, I have to protect her--”

Tony cuts him off with a shake of his head. “First of all, Pepper is a perfectly capable woman and as endearing it is that you want to protect her; she’d be pissed the hell off if you ever put yourself in danger for the sake of her safety.”

“You do it all the time!” Harley argued.

“Yes, because it’s _my_ job; not yours.” 

Harley’s face falls. “But-but I don’t understand.”

Tony takes that moment to wrap his arm around the kid’s shoulder and pull him closer. Too hell with both their emotional constipation, the kid needed comfort and he’s gonna damn well give it to him. 

The boy comes easy; too distraught and confused to put up any protest. So, Tony tucks him close so the boy’s shoulder is tucked beneath his armpit and his cheek is pressed to his shoulder. He keeps a steady hand on the side of the boy’s skull to keep him in place as he presses a firm kiss to his hairline.

“I know you don’t, Munch. I’m sure it’s not easy.” Harley slumps against him, stiff bones loosening as he melts into Tony’s hold. “But you need to understand that you’re a kid, okay? You’ll get it once you have your own family to take care of. And you’ve never had a good Dad before who steps up and takes care of you like he’s supposed to, I get that; I really do. You’re used to having a sick mother that’s dependent on you, and I’m sure you took such a quick liking to Pepper because she reminded you of the mother you lost... So, I know it’s gotta be hard accepting that someone else is here to take care of you now, not the other way around. It’s not up to you to carry everything on your shoulders anymore; that’s _my_ job. It’s my job to protect you, to protect your mother, and your brother. It’s my responsibility. You shouldn’t burden yourself with a Dad’s job when you're still a kid, make sense?”

Harley shifts uncomfortably. He looks down at Peter who had finally fallen asleep in the makeshift hoodie pouch and frowns. Then he whispers, “but-but you’re not my real Dad.”

“Just because you don’t see me as your Dad, doesn’t mean I don’t see you as my kid. I’d throw the entire world to hell if it meant keeping my family safe, and that includes you now, as sappy as that sounds. You understand?” 

Harley nods slowly, cheek still pressed against his shoulder. 

“Good.”

They sit there for a good few minutes as Tony lets that sink in. He’s not sure when the right moment would be to haul him off to a proper bed. He knows all he wants to do is sleep, but he won’t deprive the kid of the comfort he obviously needed. It was obvious the kid had grown up with and was used to a mother’s loving affection and had simply been deprived of it for too long. As much as the kid tried to play himself as tough and indifferent, Tony could easily see right through him… the kid reminded him too much of himself.

“Y’know,” Harley whispered after a while, “My father was wrong about you.” Tony cranes his neck to look down at him. “You’re not mean and scary. You’re just a soft ol’ Papa Bear.”

A loud laugh escapes him and Tony’s quick to muffle it before he wakes Peter by pressing his face into the kid’s hair, giving him a sloppy kiss. “Guess that makes you and Pete my Cubs, hm?”

Harley pulls his head away slightly to look up at him. Tony’s unfamiliar with the look the kid gives him, but if he had to guess it would be somewhere on the brink of hopeful and happy. Then the kid’s eyes crinkle in amusement and a playful scoff escapes his lips. “That was so cheesy. You’re so weird.”

“Think that’s in the job description, Cubby,” Tony growls playfully, wrapping a strong arm around his waist and pulling him back when he started trying to escape. Harley laughs and Tony pulls him closer, clamping a hand over his mouth to quiet the loud laughter. “You just bring out the weird in me, kid.”

“You’re so lame. I’d think having a Don as a fake Dad would be cool and fun, but you’re just as bad as all the other cringey Dads on the Disney channel.”

Tony pokes him lightly in the ribs to elicit another round of laughter. “I take that as a compliment.” He pokes the kid again, wriggling his fingers along the sensitive parts of his side. “Shh, no laughing,” he whispered playfully as he proceeded to tickle the kid even more. “No laughing; you can’t laugh. Stop laughing.”

Harley’s laughs quickly morph into muffled squeals as he pushed at the arm holding him down and attacking his sides mercilessly. “Stop it,” he laughs breathlessly. 

“Shhh,” Tony shushes as if he wasn’t currently tickling the hell out of him. 

“Tony, stop,” Harley laughed joyfully, twisting around to try and escape the hold.

“I’m not doing anything,” he replies innocently as his fingers do another sweep along his ribcage.

“You’re such a jerk,” Harley laughs, finally grabbing hold of the offending hand and holding it tightly between both his own. He collapses against Tony’s side breathlessly, the aftershock leaving him wheezing with quiet giggles, as he grasps Tony’s hand tightly in both his own as if afraid if he let go the man would attack once more.

“Takes one to know one,” Tony hums, stroking the back of the boy’s knuckles with his free thumb.

Harley scoffs, but he doesn’t move even after Tony’s arm loosens from around him.

Then Tony has a grand idea; one that terrifies him. He looks down at Peter, who is somehow, by some miracle, still sleeping soundly in his warm cocoon. It gives him a little confidence to push aside the natural urge to run away from any sort of vulnerability; emotional or physical. 

He’d said it to Peter moments earlier… and he’s said it to Pepper a million times… but this time it feels different. Like there’s a risk involved. Like this time, it may actually lead to problems allowing himself to love this child beside him, but _heck_ , he already does. It’s too late.

He can remember his father’s firm words to discourage him from attachment, all but banning his nanny from soothing him after one too many times of crying out for her. 

“ _Anthony,” his father says, eyes alight with indifference as his son cries at his feet, “attachment will bring you nothing more than fear, vulnerability, and grief. It will distract you from your true potential. The sooner you get that abstract fairytale of love out of your head the quicker you’ll be able to shoot her in the head.” His finger lifts to point to the panicked Latino woman tied to the chair across the room._

_“But sir,” Tony cried, “she didn’ do nothin’.” He turns his head to settle his gaze onto his nanny of nine years with a quivering lip. “She just… she jus’ fetched my old bear. That’s all.”_

_He didn't’ feel the slap so much as he heard it. He was too used to the constant welts on his face for it to affect him anymore._

_“After you were blubbering for it like an imbecile! You don’t need a stuffed bear! You are a ten-year-old boy, and you are far too sensitive and dependent. It’s all because she catered to you so much as a child, and now she’s enabling your dependency and your innumerable weaknesses. Now do what I say and put a bullet in her head!” He held out his rustic revolver, so the handle was his for the taking._

_The gagged woman sobbed loudly, and Tony shook his head adamantly. “Sir, I can’t. Please. I’ll do better, just don’t make me hurt her.”_

_His father scowled at him and spun the gun around in his hand. In all of two seconds his arm was outstretched, finger pulling on the trigger, and a loud bang sounded through the room as Tony’s nanny went slump in her chair._

Tony doesn’t necessarily remember screaming. He remembers his father’s words afterwards though. He had crouched down and gathered him into his arms like he had been a loving father all along. _“Don’t you see Anthony,” he whispered with a soothing voice as his hand stroked the boy’s hair gently, “allowing yourself to become attached to a person will only leave you vulnerable to pain in the end. If you had not cared for her as you did, you would not be feeling this way when I killed her. Does that make sense, my child?”_

_Tony nods, rubbing the back of his hand beneath his nose, then the few tears trailing down his cheeks before resting his head on his father’s shoulder as the man picked him up like he hadn’t done in years. “Yes father,” he responded, “it makes perfect sense.”_

And for years, Tony had genuinely believed it

He doesn't anymore. He hadn’t for a long time. 

And he thinks that’s why he opened his mouth and whispered the words that he did. Just for the sake of saying F you, to Howard and his disgusting parenting methods.

“I love ya, kid. You know that, right?”

He can’t be sure, but he thinks Harley stiffens slightly at the declaration.

“Yeah, well... “ the boy’s hold on his hands loosen significantly, “you’re not so bad yourself, old man.”

The tone was teasing in an attempt to make the weight behind the dismissal more lighthearted, and Tony rolled his eyes with a chuckle. The kid was like a perfect mix between him and Pepper, he didn’t know how to handle it. He really could be their kid… 

He shoves the boy off him with a scoff. “See. This is why I can’t say nice things. Look what you did. You ruined a perfectly domestic moment, you brat.” He begins pushing himself off the couch. He could feel his cheeks heating with slight embarrassment and his throat beginning to dry out; he had never been a huge fan of these emotional conversations and this was the exact reason why. 

Harley laughs at him because of course he does.

“Stop laughing,” Tony grumbled. He adjusts his hold on Peter as he stands to his full height then he reaches down to grab Harley by his upper arm to hoist him off the couch as well. “Come on. Let’s get you back in a proper bed.”

Harley stops, heels digging into the floor and he tugs against Tony’s pull. The man turns around to look at him with a challenging raise of his brow.

“JARVIS is still down,” Harley answers sternly, feet planted firmly beneath him.

“It’s fine. FRIDAY’s running the Tower till he’s back up,” Tony sighs. He was more than ready to go back to bed, especially after that emotionally draining conversation. He wasn’t really in any mood to be arguing with the kid about this. He just wanted everything to be fixed and for everyone to go back to sleep.

“Well if JARVIS got hacked, I think FRIDAY’s much more susceptible, don’t you think?” The kid raised an eyebrow at him as well. “What if we get attacked again? What if something goes down? What if somebody comes up here to try and kill you guys while you’re sleeping?”

Tony just looks at him for a few moments, studying his uneasy posture and the small glimpse of anxiety flickering through his eyes. He silently wishes that their little heart-to-heart would have calmed the kid down, but he supposed the kid still had right to worry… and he was also right.

As much as Tony hated to admit it, JARVIS being down put a very big hole in their security system. He hated that the kid had to be the one to point out his carelessness… and, like he’d told the kid, it was _his_ job to keep his family safe. He shouldn’t be making these careless mistakes when it came to protecting his family. 

“I’ll take care of it,” Tony nodded seriously. He curses himself for allowing his body to compromise his better judgement. “I’ll put Peter down with Pepper then run down to my workshop to grab my laptop to fix his code. But you sir,” he points at him, “ _you_ are going back to bed because you need sleep.”

Harley’s quick to protest once again. “I’ll go get the laptop!” He offers. “You’re hurt and you’re tired. Bruce said you need to rest, an-and I’m sure if you go down there you’ll get distracted with something or another and then you won’t get any sleep at all.” The kid looked at him pointedly like he had just made the most logical argument ever. Tony wasn’t so amused. “Plus, Pep and Pete would be pissed in the mornin’ if you weren’t there.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. Now c’mon. Go get in bed or I’ll sick Pepper on you myself. Then we’ll see who she gets pissed at.”

Harley only crossed his arms defiantly and puffed out his chest, and… okay… now Tony was getting a little pissed off. Maybe this kid was too much like him. “I’m not going to be able to go to sleep until this is fixed…”

The corner of Tony’s lips upturn in a distasteful scowl. He had never done well with a person’s blatant refusal to do what he said, and maybe this kid was getting a bit _too_ ballsy for his own good.

He’ll have to get on top of that later when he wasn’t quite as exhausted.

“Fine,” he bites out, “but you go down there and come straight back up, you here? Don’t go snooping or socializing. It’s way past your bedtime and you need to sleep.”

Harley growls in irritation. “I don’t gotta bedtime.”

“You wanna talk back?” Tony challenges, raising both his eyebrows. “Watch me change my mind. You better skedaddle and do what I say before I change my mind, kid. My patience is wearing thin. Just because I like ya doesn’t mean I’m not scared to teach you a proper lesson.”

And Harley does just that.

Boy, what the turn this night has brought. 

* * *

Harley was already sprinting his way back to the elevator when he’s blocked by an arm shooting into his path. His gut rams into the arm and he releases a pained ‘oof’ before snapping his head up to look at the owner of the arm. It was Rhodey… and he really shouldn’t be surprised.

The man looked down at him with a suspicious quirk of his brow. “Hey kid,” he greets, “your Dad know you’re down here at 2 in the morning?”

Harley sneers at him and wrinkles his nose. “He’s not my Dad.”

“Oh please,” Rhodey scoffed. “If Tony’s not your Dad, then I’m not your Uncle.”

“You’re _not_.”

“Oh c’mon Sprout. I thought we really bonded yesterday.”

“ _No_ ,” Harley droned with a patronizing lilt to his tone, “I called you a fun-sucker because you wouldn’t let me spar with the assassin lady Happy said I could train with since we skipped out on my practice, and then you went all batshit crazy and shoved me off to shoot plates with my launcher.” 

Rhodey rolled his eyes. “Your Dad would have never let you train with Romanoff and you know it.”

Harley growled, and if he were a cat he was sure his ears would have flattened against his skull. “He’s _not_ my Dad.”

Rhodey shot him a look. “We’ve gone around this circle already, kid. We’re not gonna get anywhere at this rate.”

“I liked it better when you hated me,” Harley muttered, hugging Tony’s laptop close to his chest.

“Same, kid. But it’s tough to hate your best friend’s kid. It was a lot easier when you were just an annoying little pest brown-nosing all over the Boss’ ass.”

It was Harley’s turn to roll his eyes. “Just leave me alone, man. Tony’s waiting for me to bring him this,” he nods down to the laptop he’s holding and Rhodey glances down to look at it. Then he looks back up and fixes Harley with an expression mingling between mournful and worried.

“Have you told him about your mother yet?”

“Yes, he knows I killed her,” he keeps it blunt and short and makes move to brush past him, but Rhodey grabs onto his bicep and holds tight. 

“Lemme rephrase. Did you tell him about Richard forcing your hand?”

Harley pauses. His nostrils flare as he shoots Rhodey a menacing glare. “No.”

“Harley,” Rhodey chastises, “you need to tell him. He needs to make sure Parker feels pain for what he did to you. If he finds out after he kills him -- and he will -- he’s gonna be pissed, and he’s going to need somewhere to take out his anger, and I don’t want that to be on you… If you haven’t noticed, your father isn’t all that stable when it comes to his emotions.”

“He’s. Not. My. Dad. You dick.” Harley spat.

“Are we really gonna do this again?” Rhodey fixes him with the most exasperated look. 

“You’re so obnoxious.”

A coy smirk grows across Rhodey’s face. “Funny. You’re Dad thinks so too."

Harley groans

“Listen, kiddo, you just need to tell him… it’ll make you feel better.”

Harley sighs and glances down at his socked feet. “Yeah, okay… I-I almost told him tonight… but I chickened out. Um… maybe tomorrow, I might.”

“Good deal, kid,” Rhodey smiles, clapping him on the back and giving him a nudge forward, towards the elevator. “Now get back upstairs before your Dad rallies another search party.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was ridiculously long... 
> 
> And I'm too exhausted to write out a long end note. So let's just leave it with thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed, and I'd love to hear from ya.
> 
> Yeah, so I'm gonna go pass out now.
> 
> Ciao


	28. Chapter 28

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for your patience guys! Hope y'all are coping good with this whole "thing" going on... I hope this might help you pass the time X)

“They’ve WHAT?!” Tony shouts. He knows he should have never answered his phone. All he ever got out of Steve's calls is a brand-new ball of tightly wound anxiety floating around in his stomach. He lowers Peter gently to the ground and rushes from the backroom he’d just finished recording in. Why did Rogers have to ruin such a perfect moment? He was sitting on top of the world just moments before – quite literally – preening and praising himself for a job well done after a hard day's work.

“ _Well maybe if you didn’t cause problems for me at every turn, we wouldn’t be having this issue. And by the way. What the hell was That?! What were you thinking?_ ” Tony bristles. He feels Peter tug on his jeans and whine indignantly over the absolute atrocity it was to be put down, but Tony simply grabs the boy’s hand and leads him into the other room as he growls into the receiver of his phone.

“First of all, don’t talk to me like that, Rogers. Don’t try to put the blame on me here; you’re the one that’s screwed up. Second. I did what was necessary to buy me and my family time until I’m prepared to appear in court. Now, back to my initial question, WHAT the hell?”

Steve sighs. “ _Ben Reilly’s what happened, Stark. The bastard’s chummy with the Feds and he’s supposed to be monitoring me while they work through this case. The commissioner thinks I’m working for you thanks to that live pronouncement Hydra broadcasted. So now Reilly thinks he can do whatever he sees fit without my permission and he’s sent those two bastards that shot at you into witness protection instead of pushing for their statements_ \--”

Peter jumps at his feet, arms extended, and lip jutted out in a major pout. Tony grumbled. It was nearly the kid’s bedtime… _where the hell was Pepper?_ Oh yeah… she was in bed, where she’s been sentenced for the next two months. “Peter. _Please_ , Dad’s working. It’s almost time for bed; go put on your pajamas and brush your teeth.”

“But I need hellllp,” Peter whined, stomping his foot emphatically.

“Hey, stop with the attitude,” Tony snapped, nudging the phone up a way so he could wedge it against his shoulder and ear as he bent down to pick the boy up and silence the whining. “Sorry, Rogers, it’s a goddamned crisis apparently. Just fill me in while I take care of this.”

Steve hesitates for a moment, but then he continues, and Tony totes Peter off to his room, passing Harley who was still snoozing on the couch where he’d passed out after dinner. Their long day and his sleepless night finally catching up to him. 

Tony’d wake him up and send him off to bed here soon.

“ _So, Reilly sent the two guys into witness protection because he knows you want them. I’m not sure if he’s just trying to lure you out or if he genuinely wants them protected so they can testify against you in court. Plans might change drastically after your little stunt, though. So, who knows. All I know is I got this gut feeling that Reilly isn’t as innocent as he plays off. He’s dirty and he’s up to something, and I think it has something to do with the two bastards he brought in_.”

“I need their location,” Tony orders as he drops Peter onto his toddler bed and moves towards the dresser to fish out a pair of comfy pajamas. 

“Bath!” Peter shouts joyfully at the same time Rogers says, “ _I don’t have clearance for information like that while I’m still under investigation_.”

“Maybe tomorrow Peter,” Tony sighed in exasperation, moving the phone away from his mouth as he spoke, then moving it right back to address Steve. “Well, you need to find someone that does. Those idiots took shots at my kid and I need to know why now rather than later.”

He picks out some cute footie pajamas with cartoon astronauts littered across it. “ _Stark, I told you I’m being investigated. They’re watching my every move and quite literally breathing down my neck. If I get caught, I’m gonna be hauled off to prison for treason_.”

“We’ll bail you out if it comes to it. Get on it.” Then with that, Tony ends the call with a tap of his finger and lays the device on top of the dresser. It immediately begins vibrating frantically with another incoming call from Steve, but he ignores it and moves towards Peter’s bed with the fluffy onesie in hand. The kid had somehow tangled himself in his shirt in his effort to get it off, and Tony chuckled, leaning forward to help him out.

“Wow look at the predicament you’ve gotten yourself into, Bubba,” Tony teased, grasping one of the boy’s tiny wrists to cease the manic struggle and gently tug the fabric over his arms. “I can’t even see your face. Where’d your wonderful face go?”

Peter giggles and Tony runs his fingers beneath the boy’s exposed armpit. The boy thrashes away and laughs harder. Tony grins, forgetting about life’s anxieties for just a moment as he enjoyed spending time with his baby boy. He grabs the hem of the shirt and tugs it all the way off, revealing the boy’s reddened cheeks and his unruly up curls. 

“There’s my boy,” Tony singsongs with a grin. Peter giggles some more, rolling away from him, but Tony grabs his ankles and yanks him back so he can hover over him. “Where you think your goin’, huh?” He kisses Peter’s nose and the boy giggles elatedly. So, he kisses both his cheeks, and the boy practically purrs, lifting his hands to cup either side of the man’s face.

Then, before Peter knows what’s happening, Tony’s blowing a loud raspberry on his belly, and Peter shrieks in delight. Tony grins and blows another right above his belly button. Peter swats at him with his hands and kicks at his chest with his legs as he tries wriggling away from the man's ticklish beard and his obnoxious onslaught of tickles.

Tony pulls away only slightly, leaning over Peter, now grasping the boy’s wrists. He grins down at him. Peter giggles wildly and Tony presses several lingering kisses to his forehead in soft succession. “How do you do that, huh? How do you always make Daddy’s day so much better with just a little laugh? Tell me your secret.”

Peter grins up at him through a yawn and wrestles his hands free to wrap his arms around the man’s neck and arch his back off the bed to press closer to him. “Because I cute,” he snarks just as he’s nuzzling into the space beneath Tony’s ear.

“That you are, you little munchkin,” Tony growls playfully, lifting the boy in his arms and raising him above his head to press another loud raspberry to his bare belly. Peter squeals loudly and Tony tosses him on the bed with a hardy laugh of his own. 

Peter rushes towards him with his arms lifted and a giddy smile on his face. “Again! Again!”

“Alright, one more time. Then it’s bedtime,” Tony relented with a tired smile. “Then, we gotta brush your teeth and you gotta go to bed so Dad can get back to work.”

He lifts Peter in the air, blows another raspberry, then tosses the kid onto his mattress. Peter giggles delightedly, and Tony smiles as he grabs the kid’s ankles and drags him forward once more. He wrangles him out of the cargo shorts and into his comfy pajamas.

Then, he finds himself standing behind the boy, in front of the bathroom mirror as he uses the kiddy toothbrush to clean the kid’s teeth. Peter uses the cup beside the sink to rinse out his mouth and Tony struggles to wipe the boy’s face with a towel with Peter’s eagerness to pull away and run back to his room.

Eventually he tucks Peter into bed, reads him the shortest story he could find, and presses another kiss to his forehead because the damn kid was just too precious. “Alright, I love you. Go to sleep. Mama’s gonna be right around the corner if you need her, okay? Dad’s gotta go back to work for a little bit. And I’ll probably be downstairs working by the time you get up in the morning too, so try and be a little self-sufficient for Mama tomorrow, okay? She can’t be moving around all that much anymore.”

Peter grins up at him, squinty-eyed, bared teeth, and everything. “Kay Daddy. Love you too.”

Tony combs back the curls on his forehead and moves away from the bed. 

“Wait!” Tony pauses, and Peter continues shyly, “what does self sushifiscent mean?”

Tony smiles. “It means to try not to make Mama do everything for you. Try to make her job a little easier and don’t throw any fits.”

Peter nods, and Tony takes that as he understands, so he bids him goodnight once more, shuts off the light, and closes his door.

He sighs and takes a deep breath in preparation to go back downstairs to his office to continue with the mind-numbing paperwork he’d need to finish this time tomorrow. Gosh, going on vacation was such a hassle. Sometimes he wished he didn’t have to worry about making sure his multi-billion-dollar company was in good hands, and about his not-so-secret crime organization being exposed and torn apart in his absence.

Gosh, Pepper usually handled this stuff… Why did he ever agree to this?

* * *

Harley spent the next morning with Happy while Tony worked. He had made breakfast for Pepper in bed and he helped Peter get ready for the day, but that was it. He wouldn’t be able to sit around all day in the penthouse, watching Peter play with his toys on the Living Room rug… and Happy had promised him one more training session before he left for Italy with Tony and Pepper.

“Chin down, kid. Don’t expose your throat like that,” Happy grunts as he circles the kid in the arena. Harley obeys, chin ducking down and eyes lifting upwards to keep his eyes fixed on Happy. He’s able to lunge forward and get a few weak jabs in before Happy’s tossing him away with a strong arm.

“He’s looking good Hogan,” Rhodey chimes from the entrance of the training room, a proud smirk on his face and his back braced against the door jam with his arms crossed over his chest. Harley’s head snaps over in surprise as he turns to look at the man who had just entered the previously empty room. Happy takes the opportunity to swipe at his legs and he goes down in a pile of limbs, groaning as his back slaps right against the hard mat. He rolls onto his side, back to Rhodey, as he nurses his pride and hides his face until his reddening cheeks weren’t quite as flaming hot.

“Yeah, well, we still got some work to do,” Happy chuckles. “He seems to have the same problem as the Boss. Can’t pay attention for squat.” The man moves closer to the ropes wrapped around the edge of the square to greet Rhodey when he starts approaching. “Are we sure he ain’t really the Boss’ kid?”

Rhodey chuffs a quiet laugh and holds out a thick folder to Happy. “Can’t be too sure at this point really.” He glances at the kid still sprawled out on the mat, then looks back up at Happy in all his sweaty glory. “Nat wanted me to hand you the results of today’s tests... Have you picked out who’s riding along with Tones to Europe yet? They need to be debriefed here soon with the procedures. They’d be leaving tomorrow morning right before Tones takes off with Pep and the kids.”

Happy flicks through the folder and furrows his brows. “Na, but I’ll get on that. I’ve been busy. Have you got in contact with the Brit and his brother to sort out things with the real estate guys? If they’re leavin’ tomorrow, Boss’ stuff’s probably gotta be moved today.”

“No, that was your job, Hap,” Rhodey states with a reprimanding raise of his brows.

“Are you shittin’ me?!” Happy growls, “I’ve already got enough on my plate. I can’t sort the move _and_ all this crap.”

“Well I’m busy too Hogan,” Rhodey snaps, narrowing his eyes.

Harley snickers from behind them and sits up slowly, hoping his cheeks had finally returned to their normal hue. Rhodey turns to look at him and rolls his eyes. “Yeah, laugh it up kid.” Then Rhodey turns back to Happy with a serious frown. “You should probably get on that Hogan. Tony’s all pissy today. He’s been doing paperwork since yesterday. You know how he gets when he has to do paperwork.” 

Rhodey spins around and walks back towards the door. Happy shouts after him. “Hey-hey-hey, you’re not gonna help?”

Rhodey stops at the door and looks back at him. “I can’t.” Then his gaze flickered over to Harley momentarily, who was just getting back to his feet, and offered a sympathetic smile. “I have to get Parker prepped for this evening. Tony wants him gone before the end of the day and he wants to make it good, so I gotta make sure he’s in tip-top condition… 

He sees the amused smile on Harley’s face slip away, and Rhodey feels bad for the kid, but he can’t do anything to help. Tony’s been putting off this Richard nonsense long enough.

“Oh! And remember Tony wants a big yard for the kids and maybe a pool. Might wanna get on that here soon.”

* * *

Harley paces. He paces like he never paced before. Back and forth, back and forth in the hall right in front of Tony’s office. He debated knocking… he didn’t really want to talk to Tony, but at the same time he kinda had to. It was his last chance. He needed to talk to Tony before the man ruined any chances of him learning the real reason Richard decided it was necessary to leave him traumatized for the rest of his life.

He felt a group of uncomfortable tingles surge through his body. He-he didn’t want Tony to kill him... not yet… he still needed to know the real reason _why_. Why Richard made him do what he did. He needed to know… he needed to know if it was really his fault. If he was really the one to blame for the deaths of his mother and sister.

He needed to know how Richard was able to project the blame onto himself all these years. How he was able to manipulate him so fully effectively that Harley had actually begun to trust in the man instead of despising him for the things he had done. Was he really that stupid? Or was Richard really that good at what he did?

Because now… now he feels even more guilt looking back on all the times he had ample opportunity to shoot the man in the skull but never did. There were so many chances for him to avenge his family, but he never did, because he was a gullible coward that had been obediently following behind the man that made him kill his mother. 

All he wanted now was one more chance… because this time he was thinking clearly… he wouldn’t hesitate this time to take the shot. He’d pull the trigger without a second thought.

Tony couldn’t kill him yet; not until he got his chance.

So, he paced.

He was nervous.

And he was scared.

What if Tony denied him this one last opportunity for closure with the excuse of ‘ _you’re too young_ ’ that he seems to be so in love with? What if he had to live the rest of his life knowing he’d been willingly loyal to the man that took his entire life from him in the blink of an eye? What if he was never able to find out what he had done to generate such rage in a usually neutral and docile man?

Before he knows it, his back is hitting the wall next to Tony’s office door and he’s sliding down, knees folding to press against his chest, and he lowers his forehead to rest on them. He wraps his arms around his legs and hugs them closely as he takes slow breaths… he shouldn’t be such a coward. He just needs to march in there and tell Tony what’s been bothering him. It’s not like he’d get mad… right? The worst that could happen would be being denied watching the man suffer… Tony could ask his questions for him even… all he had to do was walk in there and tell him something he’d never told anyone aside from Rhodey three nights prior.

“Master Harley, is everything alright?” JARVIS asks from above. 

Harley jumps back to his feet. “Um-um yes! Everything’s fine.”

“Would you like me to inform Mr. Stark you have been waiting out here?”

Harley gulps. No! He feels his chest heave with something that couldn’t possibly be air, because he couldn’t breathe! Oh God… he couldn’t breathe... He changed his mind! He didn’t want to talk to Tony. No, he can’t talk to Tony… he can’t talk to him… he can’t tell him. Not when these past couple days have been so good. He can’t ruin it; he can’t complicate it; he can’t give Tony any more reason to feel angry or stressed… not after what happened last time. He can’t risk it. “Um, no-no that’s alright. I’ll just go--”

“Too late!” FRIDAY chimes in innocently just when Harley takes a step away from the heavy set of doors. “I have informed Boss already and he is coming to get you.”

“W-what?!” 

“FRIDAY,” JARVIS placates with what almost seems to be a sigh, “we’ve talked about this. That is not protocol. You cannot make decisions on your own discernment until Mr. Stark codes you to do so. I apologize Master Harley,”

“But Master JARVIS,” FRIDAY argues as if she were a petulant child, “Master Harley is in distress and he is in obvious need of comfort from his father.” 

Harley’s remains frozen as he listens to the surreal conversation taking place between the two computers. If he wasn’t already stressed the hell out he would probably be totally enjoying this… but he wasn’t.

“You must pick your battles FRIDAY. Not every matter should be dealt with your discretion. You were made to obey orders.”

The door to Tony’s office swings open and Harley jumps again. His head instantly swivels to fix on the man standing in the entryway. He looked exhausted. A hand covered his eyes as he massaged the sides of his temples. “Cut the little lady some slack JARVIS. No need to get pissy just ‘cause she replaced you for a day.”

“I apologize, sir.”

Tony waves a hand in the air, and both AI’s seem to get the hint, because neither of them say a word after that. Which leaves just Harley and Tony; Tony and Harley… and Harley can’t help but gulp again when his heart begins beating just a bit too fast. Tony fixes him with a look he’s unsure about. 

“What do you need, kid?” 

He sounded snappy… like… in not such a good mood kinda snappy. Yeah… he should probably just forget about it. Screw having unresolved trust and attachment issues for the rest of his life! Who cares.

“Uh, I-I um… I just--”

Tony rolls his eyes at him and opens the door wider. “Get your ass in here. Stop being so indecisive.”

Harley doesn’t really have the courage to argue. He feels stiff and anxious and-and he just can’t seem to relax. So, he rushes forward, tucking his chin close to his chest and passes by Tony and into his office. The man lays a hand on his shoulder, but he flinches away just enough to make him pull away. He stops when he’s a few feet in front of the desk at the far end of the room, gaze still fixed on his shoes.

Tony goes to sit back down in his chair and casts an inquisitive glance towards him. “What’s wrong?”

Harley shifts, rolling his weight from one foot to the other, gritting his teeth and squeezing his eyes shut to keep the words from spilling out of his mouth. “Nothing’s wrong,” he fibs with a bit of a snappish tone of his own. He doesn’t know where the irritation came from, but it felt like his insides were vibrating and his head was pounding with a numb, deafening bang after bang and he just needed to get _away_. Away, so he can go curl up in a dark corner and catch his breath. He needed to breathe…

 He instantly regrets the tone when he sees the look on Tony’s face. Yeah, the man was definitely not in one of his best moods. Maybe not the best time to test him...

“I’m gonna give you the benefit of the doubt here, kid, so I’m gonna let that one pass, but I just want you to know that I don’t appreciate that tone.”

“Figured you wouldn’t,” Harley muttered, wrinkling his nose. _Why was he annoyed now? What the hell? What was wrong with him? Why couldn’t he be normal and communicate his feelings in a normal goddamned way for once?! Why does he have to be such a prick?! Be sensitive and apologetic! Be like Peter! Tony loves Peter..._

He can see the way Tony grit his teeth.

“I hope you didn’t just come in here to piss me off because I am _not_ in the mood to deal with you today. Now, tell me what’s really bothering you or hightail it on outta here.”

“ _You’re_ the one that forced me in here!” Harley accused, pointing a shaky finger at the man and glowering his best glower. “I was just fine with walking off, but _no_. You just gotta stick your nose into everyone’s business.”

_Ok, ok, back up. Time to cool down. Stop talking. Why was he talking?! Stop! Just apologize and leave! Don’t make him mad!_

It was scary how calm Tony remained. “ _Everything_ that happens in this Tower and this city is my business. And _I_ wasn’t the one pacing outside the door for the better part of half an hour. You obviously want to tell me something, so just tell me and we can both get on with our lives.” Then his gaze dropped down to the papers strewn across his desk and he began scribbling with his pen. “I have a lot of work to do before we leave tomorrow.”

Harley doesn’t know why… maybe it’s a defense mechanism that’s making his insecurities stew in his stomach until anger is boiling over, but now he’s pissed. The pounding hadn't stopped, and his jaw was tight, and he was just so _angry_. Either way, Tony’s blatant disregard for his obvious distress wasn’t boding so well with him and his mouth is moving again before he can get control of it.

“Why you gotta be so bitchy about it? What if it’s important.”

Tony looks up at him, completely unamused and 100% done. “Well, it’s obviously not. Now, watch your mouth.”

Harley grits his teeth together, the last of his anxiety melting into annoyance. “You’re such a jerk.” Harley snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

Tony’s mouth quirks down into a displeased scowl. He was _not_ in the mood. “Watch it kid.”

“Or what?” Harley challenges defiantly, “it’s not like you’re gonna actually do anything about it.”

Tony’s scowl slowly melts into a grim line of indifference. He sniffs and turns his head back down to the work on his desk. “Why don’t you go stick your nose in the corner and cool off for a bit.” It wasn’t a suggestion; that much was clear. 

“I’m not a child _Stark_ , you--”

Before he could finish his thought, Tony was standing abruptly from his seat, looking positively furious. “You don’t get to disrespect me _child_. Know that. Now. Go stick your nose in that corner and I don’t wanna hear another peep out of you, you hear?”

“Whatever,” Harley rolled his eyes and made move to leave the room. “I shoulda known you were gonna be a dick about this. I’ll talk to you when you’re not all pissy.”

Before he can even take two steps to move, Tony’s already beside him, grabbing him by the scruff of his neck and dragging him towards the corner of the room. Harley fights him with flailing limbs and a few good kicks to his shin, but Tony’s grip on him doesn’t loosen.

A few stumbling strides later and Tony was shoving him rather harshly to the corner adjacent to his desk. Harley’s shaking with anger, but refrains from lashing out, even when Tony presses a strong hand against the back of his head and pushes his face closer to the wall. The man’s towering frame boxes him in, and he leans down to whisper in Harley's ear. 

“I want you to stand here and think about what you’ve done, you hear me? Don’t so much as twitch until I say so.” And with that he was gone, leaving Harley to tremble angrily alone in the corner.

_Why did he always have to cause such trouble?_

It doesn’t take longer than a couple minutes before the consuming anger is reverting back to its original form of debilitating anxiety. He feels scared and the trembling is no longer caused by anger, but by worry and humiliation. _Why did he have to be like this? Why couldn’t he just communicate in a normal way? Now Tony would surely change his mind about wanting him as their kid. Their firstborn… the one that was supposed to set the example. Tony’d be stupid to wand him to be Peter and Morgan’s older brother. All he is, is trouble._

_He can’t even keep his stupid mouth shut!_

And not only has he been proven to be a terrible older sibling, but now he’s stuck in a corner. Like a goddamn Baby! Tony had put him in time out! Like a child… and it was mortifying.

He wasn’t a child…

He bowed his head, his forehead coming to rest on the cold plaster of the walls. His lip trembles and he squeezes his teeth close together. It was humiliating… embarrassing. He’d thrown a pointless fit and had pissed Tony off. Now the man was never going to listen to him. He was going to be even more pissed than he would have been before, because surely he’s going to be mad at Harley for not being mature enough to communicate his worries. He didn’t even have enough control over his own emotions to stay calm. 

But then there was also that small inkling of hope at the back of his mind that maybe this was like one of those cheesy lines out of a kid movie. Maybe Tony felt just as bad about punishing him as he felt about being punished. Maybe Tony would be ready to forgive him and then he could explain what was really going on… Maybe he hadn’t ruined his chances after all...

“Tony,” he croaked softly, imagining the man coming to rush to his side once hearing the distressed quiver in his voice, like he would Peter. 

That didn’t happen.

“Did I give you permission to speak?” The man answered coldly, with a slight growl to his voce.

Harley’s whole body cowered with a repressed sob and he squeezed his eyes shut. “No, sir,” he whispered softly. 

He supposed he wasn’t really in a position to hope for comfort. He’d messed up… and he wasn’t Peter. He couldn’t be as easily forgiven.

_Why did he always have to screw everything up?_

* * *

Tony massaged his temple with the heels of both his palms. He was exhausted. He hadn’t slept well the night before. He had spent all day yesterday riding along with the guys to go check the warehouse Hydra had ambushed them at. They had searched high and low, but they weren’t able to find a thing. Then he got back, made some tweaks to JARVIS, babysat Peter in his workshop while Happy continued the previous day’s work, and he helped Harley with the schoolwork he’d been assigning him to keep him up to date with his academics. All this in between going over stacks of papers and working his way through Pepper’s list of things that needed to be taken care of before their departure Then, that night… oh goodness that night had been hell. After he’d broadcasted the video via JARVIS across the globe and he’d tucked Peter into bed, came Rogers and his stupid situation which called for even more paperwork and a lot more digging into whoever the hell this Ben Reilly douche was.

Pepper, though, had been in one of her moods and he’d basically gotten kicked to the couch after making one too many snide remarks amidst his frustration. And, of course, that night Peter had at some point snuck into the living room and laid on top of him… which led to very sore ribs to accompany his achy back in the morning. The only plus side was that his knee was feeling much better and he no longer needed the stupid cane… but that was it. Other than that, yeah, bad night, bad morning, and a hellish day to follow it.

The day only seemed to drag on as it continued. He’d signed god knew how many papers sent down from Legal about the _‘reunification’_ between him and his kids and the shit ton of information to support it. He had to make sure the accounts were in order, and that systems/operations could be maintained during his month absence. It was a lot more work than it usually was thanks to Hydra-Man and the Feds. He only hoped his little video from last night would help that matter. He’d be pissed as hell if Ross decided to send his jolly crew in to nab him or shut down his company when he gave them explicit instructions not to do so.

So, when the kid came in with nerves that quickly morphed into a displeasurable attitude, he wasn’t having it. He was already stressed as hell to get work done and the kid was _not_ helping.

The kid had been standing in the corner for about an hour and a half and he had only made one peep. Other than that, the kid remained stock still and silent just as Tony had ordered him. If he wasn’t so pissed Tony may have even been impressed by the kid’s resilience. Surely the boy’s legs were screaming at him by now.

He only had a few more pages to go over before he was a free man, and he had decided he’d let the kid go when he finished. But Rhodey’s abrupt appearance interrupted those plans.

The man entered quickly, steely eyes softening into confused bewilderment when he spotted the kid with his face tucked into the corner and his shoulders hunched close to his face in shame, but he didn’t say a word about it. 

“Tony, Richard’s ready. Everything’s set up for you.”

Tony nods, casting a glance towards the kid then looking back at Rhodey. “Alright, let me finish up here. I’ll be there in a few.” He felt the weight on his chest begin to lift. He was _finally_ going to do something mildly entertaining, as morbid as that sounded.

Rhodey shot another glance to the kid’s motionless form and looked back at Tony, looking just a little pissed off. “Did he talk to you?”

Tony scoffed. “He tried telling me something but chickened out. Then he started mouthing off and I wasn’t in the mood to deal with it.” Goodness knows how many times he’s thought _that_ in the past two hours.

“Rhodey,” the kid squeaked helplessly, as if begging for help. Tony’s head snapped over to look at him to see the kid’s head turned around to look at the man. He looked utterly devastated.

“Hey. Nose back in the corner. I didn’t say you could move.” Tony snapped, feeling just a bit bad at the mortified downfall of the boy’s face as he slowly turned his head to face the corner once more.

“Tony,” Rhodey placated firmly, fixing him with a stern glare. Tony’s head whipped back over to look at him. “You need to cool down and talk to the kid.”

Then Rhodey left, and Tony’s irritation seemed to leave with him. He felt like a jerk. He looked back over at the kid to find him with his nose tucked firmly into the corner once more. He sighed and it wasn’t until he looked closer that he was able to see the poor kid’s shoulders quaking. A lump formed in his throat and he found himself panicking. Was the kid _crying_? _What if he’d messed up? Should he have not been so harsh? Pepper said time outs were good punishments… well… she’d been talking about Peter at the time, but still! Had he been too unsympathetic? Or maybe he’d made the punishment too long. Oh god he didn’t know how to do this._

And then he thinks back on when FRIDAY’d told him Harley’d been pacing outside his door looking quite upset about something. He had wanted to tell him something... and Rhodey wanted him to talk to the kid… 

His throat goes dry and his face pales when he realizes what Harley must have been wanting to tell him. It must have been about what Richard did… he still didn’t know the extent of his involvement (Rhodey refused to tell him any more), but Tony’s been perfectly fine believing the bastard was completely to blame for the death of Harley’s family and he was about to make sure the man was dealt the punishment he deserved. But what if things were worse than he imagined? Or not as bad?

The kid had been trying to tell him! He was trying to tell him something important and all he did was blow him off! And for what?! Because he was a little peeved for having to do paperwork all morning? 

Oh god he was a terrible father… every time he thought he had a handle on things, things just blew up in his face.

“Tony,” Harley spoke again in a whisper, sounding reminiscent of earlier when Tony had not so nicely told him to shut up, “I’m really sorry.”

And, yeah, okay, he’s a jerk.  A big fat jackass.

He falls back into his chair and rubs a hand down his face. “You’re free to go, kid.”

It’s like he was a goddamn warden!

He expected the kid to go bolting from the room, as far away from him as he could get, but he didn’t. In fact, the kid did the exact opposite. He came sprinting towards him, cheeks red and eyes swollen, and practically collapsed on top of him, lanky arms wrapping tightly around his neck and head tucking beneath his chin despite the very awkward position it put them in.

The chair rolls back and the kid stumbles, but he doesn’t let go. “I’m sorry Tony. I’m sorry- I’m sorry.”

Tony flounders for a moment, trying to find his footing, and he stands slowly from the chair, so their embrace wasn’t quite as cumbersome. He wraps his arms around him, gently maneuvering the boy’s arms so they were wrapped around his waist instead and Tony props his chin atop his head as he slowly rubs his back, pulling him in and tucking him close.

“It’s okay, It’s okay. I shouldn’t have been so harsh. That’s my mistake.”

Harley shakes his head violently, nose still pressed firmly against his sternum. He clings to Tony, desperate to be as close as possible for some god knows reason. Was this what the books meant when kids sometimes got clingy after being punished? Oh gosh… he thought that was just a load of bull to trick parents into reprimanding their kids, but apparently not! Psychology was weird as shit.

Tony lifts a hand to comb through the kid’s hair gently, hoping he’d calm down so maybe the guilt would stop eating him alive. “Let’s move this to the sofa, huh. Your legs are probably killing ya right now.”

“No,” Harley chokes, pulling away from the embrace and taking several steps back. “I-I-I need to tell you--” He coughs abruptly and draws in another strained gasp of air. Tony grabs him by the arms. 

“Calm down; just breathe. Breathe, okay? You don’t have to tell me right now.” He’ll wait… he’ll wait for the kid to tell him. If him killing Richard today was what had the boy in such a rush to spill his biggest secret… then he’d wait. He’d wait till he was ready.

“No, I gotta,” Harley gasps. “I gotta tell.”

Tony grimaces. “Alright, alright. Let’s go sit down and you tell me what you gotta tell, okay?”

Harley lets himself be led to the couch, chest constricting with anxiety. He needed to tell Tony… this was his last chance to tell him… if he didn’t tell, Tony would go and kill Richard and he’d never know… he’d never know if he was really to blame for killing his mother and sister. He couldn’t not know. He needed to know. He needed to tell Tony.

“Tell me what’s wrong Buddy,” Tony instructs gently as they sit down.

And Harley did. He told him everything. And he found that once he started, he couldn’t stop.

* * *

Rhodey’s loafs around in the room, arranging the various utensils on the table as he waits for Tony to make an appearance. He’s hoping he was talking to the kid and that was what was taking him so long, but he can’t ever be 100% sure with that man.

“Stark sure is taking his good ole time, isn’t he?” Richard scowled, tugging at his bound wrists bent painfully behind him.

Rhodey’s not amused. “For a guy about to be tortured then executed, you’re pretty mouthy.”

That shut him up, but the glare didn’t soften any. So, Rhodey decided to indulge him, maybe give him a scare while he was at it.

“If you must know, he’s having a little chat with the kid you traumatized. He’s learning ‘bout all the sick, twisted things you’ve done in your miserable life and he’s gonna make sure you’re genuinely sorry for all of it before it’s dinnertime for him and his family.”

“That bastard child’s got nothing on me that Stark doesn’t already know. He doesn’t know anything. He’s not even smart enough to spell his own goddamn name.”

Rhodey fixed him with a menacing smirk and bowed his head back down to the tools in front of him with an innocent shrug of his shoulders. “I’m not talking about Peter.”

And of course, the master of perfect timing himself swings the door open with a loud bang and comes stalking in looking positively enraged. And Rhodey would gladly admit that he found great amusement in watching Richard Parker’s cool expression morph into a panicked terror.

Tony stalked towards him and he doesn’t speak a word as he punches him hard in the jaw. The man barely had time to recover from the harsh blow when Tony then grabbed his face and snapped his head over, so they were looking eye-to-eye. 

“I don’t know what was going on through your goddamned head,” he growled with a harsh bark, “but I just want you to know that you will be getting no less than what you deserve. I’m going to pull out every tooth in your mouth one by one and then I’m going to gouge out your eyes and make your eardrums bleed. I’m going to break every bone in your body, shave off every inch of skin, and tear every limb off your useless corpse until all that’s left is the cowering piece of shit that you are… and you’re going to feel every damn second of it. Do I make myself clear?”

An inhumanely croak rises from the back of the man’s throat and Tony releases him roughly.

“Uh Tony,” Rhodey interrupts, grabbing the man’s attention, “I’d tone it down a notch. You got an audience.” He nods towards the heavy door behind him and Tony’s head whips around to settle on the kid that must have followed him when he bolted from the room in his fit of rage.

“Harley, what are you doing here?” Tony snapped. He didn’t mean to snap at him, but he was seething and every bone in his body was begging him to start tearing the bastard limb from limb. A month’s worth of holed up frustration and resentment was coagulating in his stomach and it made him sick thinking he had shown as much mercy to the man as he had. 

Harley quivered, eyes darting between the man tied to the chair and the infuriated one in front of him. “I-I’m sorry,” he choked, jaw trembling and eyes burning with water as he stared down at Richard Parker for the first time since his full clarity of mind has allowed him to place the blame on someone who wasn’t only himself. “I just- I just had to see…”

Tony approached him with long strides, blocking him from Richard’s burning gaze. “You shouldn’t be in here kid. I’ll take care of it, I promise. That’s my job, remember?”

“Please,” Harley begged, fresh tears falling from his already swollen eyes, mouth sticky with saliva as he forced the words through the heavy barrier of his throat. “Please sir, I gotta know why.” A muted whine escaped his throat with the force of several exhales.

“Why what, kid?” Tony’s eyes softened and he rubbed the kid’s arms soothingly, hoping it’d help comfort him in some way.

Harley's mouth opened to answer, but the words only escaped through a pained keen. “Why he made me do it.”

Then Harley’s pushing forward, making Tony drop his arms, and he’s pressing into his chest with soft groans of distress. Tony’s body is run ragged with shivers at the idea and he hugs the boy close with one arm. He knows he shouldn’t give him what he wants... Then he feels a hand land on his shoulder. 

“You need to let him get this out of his system Tones.”

“Wha?” Tony turns to look at his best friend. “Are you kidding? That’s not something a kid should be seeing.”

“I’m not saying he needs to watch you maim him,” Rhodey placated gently, voice firm and undeterred. “I’m saying you need to let the kid beat the shit out of him.” 

Always the voice of reason, Rhodey was.

Tony chuckled at the thought of letting his kinda ‘thirteen’ year old kid loose on Richard Parker. “Well that sounds fair to me. What do you think, kid? Want some hands-on experience?” He tugged gently at the collar of the kid’s shirt from behind and Harley moved away to stare up at him with wide eyes. 

“R-R-Really?”

Tony grins down at him, a small smirk playing at his features. Then he twists, keeping one arm wrapped around the kid’s shoulders as he turns to face Richard. “What you think Parker? Think you’re up to being pummeled by my thirteen-year-old?”

Richard simply scowls at him as Harley mutters a quiet “ _fourteen_ ” under his breath and runs his sleeve beneath his nose.

“Whatcha say kiddo? You up for it now, or do you want me to warm him up for you?”

Harley rubs harshly at his eyes to get rid of the burning tears and he wrinkles his nose as he sniffs. “I-um. I need a minute.”

“Great,” Tony grins, eager to get a hand on Parker as soon as possible. He hands the kid off to Rhodey and eagerly approaches Richard once more to harass him with strike after strike, from the left cheek to the right, down to his stomach and his groin. He’s sure not to leave too much of a bloody mess and keeps it somewhat lowkey so the man would have at least a bit of coherency to answer whatever questions the kid might ask him. So, by the time he has to shake out his hand and the man’s a blubbering mess, Tony steps back and turns around to see if the kid was ready.

“You ready?” Tony asks, head nodding down at the man in the chair. Harley nods and approaches slowly. “Great. I’ve broken him in fairly good the past couple weeks, so he should be pretty compliant for you. Isn’t that right Richie?”

The man groans in response and Tony grins. Harley’s at his side in a matter of seconds, wringing his hands nervously in front of him. “Umm. So… what am I supposed to do?” He questions nervously. His hand twitches and refrains from looking at Richard to avoid his heart from hammering in his chest and throwing him into another panic.

Tony claps him on the shoulder for reassurance. “Just ask him whatever questions you got and beat him senseless.”

Harley looks up at him. He looks scared, and hell, this is exactly why he didn’t want Harley being exposed to things like this so young… but he needed to learn eventually, and the kid’s seen worse. But that still didn’t make it any easier. The kid was always so eager to learn and insist he could handle whatever Tony threw at him, but however much the kid would deny it, he was sensitive, and life hadn’t treated him well. So, he was bound to have some issues when it came to things drawing up memories from his past. Tony had been trying to avoid any triggers he may have, but he supposes this is a necessary evil. Closure is necessary to end that terrible chapter in the kid’s life and begin a new one with the family he and Pepper were happily trying to create.

So, Tony sighed in resignation and took the boy by both his shoulders. “Just get angry, okay? Don’t be scared. He can’t do anything to you anymore. Use that smart mouth of yours to piss him off like you do me, yeah.” He combs a gentle hand through his hair. “Think about what he did to you and your family and think about how terrible and wrong it was. Use the anger; don’t be shy; cry if you have to. He’ll deserve everything you throw at him and more, okay?”

Harley nods numbly then turns to look at Richard. Tony slowly backs away to stand beside Rhodey on the other side of the room. He tells himself that he’ll only step in if he has to.

“Why’d you make me kill her?” Harley begins softly, eyes dark and angry as they bore into the man in front of him.

“Kill who?” Richard spat, lolling his head to the side so he could look at the kid better.

“My Mom,” Harley answered with an audible quiver in his voice.

“I did it to teach you a lesson,” Richard answered blankly, eyes swollen and red as his darkened pupils glazed over the area Harley was standing.

Harley’s jaw spasmed. “No, you didn’t. I know you didn’t! There’s something else! What was it?” 

“There was no reason,” he groaned, “you were a brat and Norman pitied you because of your father. You needed to grow up.”

“I was _twelve_ ,” Harley croaked with anger. “I was a _child_!”

Tony wasn’t so happy with the direction the conversation was going. He was almost sure Richard would have given up with keeping any secrets from him, but apparently this man was a spiteful son of a bitch. And by that last statement uttered by the man Tony was ready to jump in and cave in his face, but thankfully, Harley beat him to it before he let himself interfere. 

He wasn’t quite as thankful though when the kid whipped his hand away from Richard after delivering quite the blow just above his jaw. He cradled his wrist in his other hand and shook it wildly, wincing and cursing under his breath. Tony rushed forward and so did Rhodey.

“What happened, kiddo?” Tony asked, grabbing the boy’s hand gently and examining it for any fractures.

Harley winced when the man’s strong thumb ran over the knuckles of his ring finger and pinkie. “I-I’ve never punched a guy in the face that hard before.” Tony looks over at Richard for a moment and his pleased to see the man slowly working his jaw around. 

“Well you clipped him pretty good. Just don’t punch him with these two knuckles,” he grazes his thumb over the already bruising knubs. “Gotta hit ‘em with this one.” Then he taps his middle knuckle and smiles. “Does your wrist hurt?”

Harley smiles shyly. “I mean… it’s fine. I just didn’t hit him straight on--”

Tony interrupts him with a look and pinches the sides of his wrist between his fingers. He looks up at Rhodey then. “You got any wrappings to wrap his hand and wrist with?”

“You baby him Stark,” Richard spat in a daze, cloudy eyes settled on them.

“Yeah?” Tony scoffs, “Well he deserves to be babied after the hell you’ve put him through.”

Rhodey returns with some gauze and Tony slowly begins wrapping the kid’s hand and wrist so his knuckles are covered. “I’m guessing Happy hasn’t taught you to punch without boxing gloves yet, huh?”

Harley shrugs in embarrassment. “We’ve only really trained a couple times.” He glances nervously back towards Richard. “Can’t you, like, give him that truth serum, narcoanalytic stuff Happy’s been giving the guys to find the snitch?”

Tony chuckles and shakes his head. “I like where your head’s at, but no can do. This douche immunized himself… he designed the drug and Bruce just made it a little less debilitating.”

“Oh,” Harley whispers quietly.

“That’s alright. You’ll have to learn how to do it this way at some point. I’ll give you a quick crash course… Just don’t tell Pepper.”

So, Tony maneuvers the both of them so they’re standing side-by-side in front of Richard. He puts his hands up in the boxing position Harley was familiar with. Then he makes sure Harley’s looking at him and holds up his right hand for emphasis.

“What the hell Stark,” Richard says with a nervous and questioning undertone. 

Tony ignores him and focuses on Harley.

 “Get him with the middle knuckle. That’ll be your sturdiest blow. You clipped him with your pinkie and ring finger knuckles and that coulda really hurt you; broke your fingers even.” Then for even more emphasis he sails his fist forward to make direct contact with Richard’s left eye. “And there. Best bruise you could give.”

Richard groaned, hunching over as far as his restraints would allow. 

Harley bounced on the balls of his feet beside him, looking a little more confident and a lot less anxious. “Can I try?”

Tony snorted and nodded his head with a small smile. Who knew watching his kid beat up his tormentor could be so much fun?

The kid hooked him in the same spot and Richard hissed sharply as the welt grew above his eye. 

“Good aim, kid,” Tony praised, and then he put a hand on his shoulder, “but if you want more force behind a direct jab, you’re gonna have to twist your arm.”

Harley squints at him in confusion. 

“It’s like turning a doorknob, watch.” He first does it in slow motion so Harley could watch the movements, then demonstrates a little faster by socking Richard hard in the jaw. “It keeps you from spraining your elbow and it’s quicker than a hook. Try it.”

Richard growls at them, fed up with the casual affair they were making this out to be. The growl doesn’t last long before the kid was punching him in the jaw as well.

“Perfect,” Tony praises with a wide grin. “Now, just throw your weight into it. And aim for the nose and the ears. That’ll do some damage and he just might give you an answer.”

Harley nods and gets to work, repeatedly asking Richard the same question, and repeatedly getting the same lame response. It was making him mad if nothing else, and both Tony and Rhodey noticed.

“Why won’t you tell me?!” Harley practically cried, knocking his fist right into the center of the man’s mouth. His face was already bleeding fairly extensively, and Harley felt like such a failure for not getting any information out of him.

It wasn’t until Harley spun around in his haze of anger to grab the knife laying on the table that Tony jumped in. 

“Hey, whoa. I didn’t say anything about stabbing. Just punching.”

“I don’t care!” Harley screamed, tears rolling down his cheeks. “He won’t tell me the truth! It can’t be the truth! It can’t be Tony; it can’t.”

“Don’t know what to tell ya kid.” Richard gasped, spitting his bloody saliva as he spoke, most of it dribbling down his chin. “It’s your fault. You messed up and you paid the consequences. That’s how this life works.”

Tony roughly grabs the knife out of Harley’s hand and shoves it forward so the point is pressed dangerously against the tip of his nose. He looms over the man, rocking his chair back and scowling down at him. 

“I’d watch your tone if I were you. You better be grateful to this kid, because if I’d had my way, you’d be begging for mercy by now. So why don’t you start talking. The truth.”

“I have,” Richard croaks without ever breaking eye contact. 

“Suit yourself,” Tony smiles, slowly running the end of the knife down his face, over his lips and flicking off at the downturned curve of his chin. It leaves a good sized slit and he tosses the knife away as he turns his attention back to the kid. “How about I show you the best way to crack a man’s rib cage?”

“Tony,” Rhodey begins, sounding a bit hesitant, but Tony holds up a hand. 

“I’m not having the kid pry out his teeth, Rhodes. Cool down. Now, watch closely, kid.”

One blow knocks the air out of him, and the next Harley hears a distinct crack, and then Tony drives the heel of his flat palm into the far side of the top rib and Richard screams from deep within his chest. Harley takes a startled step back when the man throws his head back in a wail, but he quickly recovers and listens aptly when Tony gives him instruction.

“Now do it with one punch you’d have to apply about 4,000 Newtons to fracture the rib, but most average guys can only get up to ‘bout a thousand. So, nothing against you kid, but I don’t think you could pull the 4,000 mark just yet. So, just do what I did. Keep your feet steady and balanced. First blow to the middle inseam to weaken, then a direct blow, and then a swift jab to the side of the rib for a full fracture. You gotta be quick about it or else it won’t work, but he’s already been pretty beat up so it shouldn’t take much effort.”

“Okay-okay,” Harley nodded quickly, taking a couple deep breaths to ready himself.

“Tony,” Rhodey tries again, but, again, Tony stops him with a single hand.

“Go ahead kid.”

Harley repeats exactly as Tony did to Richard’s opposite side. He doesn’t hear a crack on the second blow like he did on Tony’s, but on the last hit he definitely heard _something_. He couldn’t hear it well over Richard’s yelp of pain, but it was something. “Did you hear that?!” He asked excitedly, turning up his head to look at Tony for approval.

Tony grins and laughs triumphantly as if the kid had hit a homerun at his first mini league baseball game. He ruffles his hair. “Sure did. Sounds like your first cartilage tear. Awesome job!”

Maybe it was because Howard never praised him for a job well done, but he felt every victory needed to be celebrated, because his kid was one step away from a fracture and that was freaking amazing for a _not-officially_ thirteen-year-old kid.

“Really?” And Harley looked so gosh darn happy to be receiving the praise and Tony’s just glad he wasn’t crying anymore.

“Of course. Why don’t you try again? A couple more hits might make it a full fracture… unless Richard wants to start talking now.”

 Harley turns to face the man in question, hoping that maybe it might have worked, but Richard only scowled at him.

“What’s the point, Stark? As soon as I open my mouth and the kid gets what he wants, you’ll have your way with me… and I die. That’s not a logical move on my part and you know it. So, let’s make a deal, hm?” 

Tony snarls… he wished he still had that knife to drive between the fractured bones of his ribs and _twist_...

“I’m done making deals with you Parker. You’ve eaten up my patience, and I’m tired of it. Either way you're dying tonight. It’s up to you how long I draw it out for.”

Harley glances between the two of them.

“I’m not saying shit Stark. If you really _love_ your fake kid that much, you’d trade my life for the information he obviously wants. What means more to you Tony… your child’s closure or my head?”

Tony doesn’t falter with a retort. “I think my child’s closure depends on your head, Parker. And I think you underestimate my skill of prying information out of people.”

“And you underestimate my determination, Stark. I have nothing left to say to that bastard of a child,” his head nods in Harley’s direction and for a second Tony thinks he might lose his cool again, but he doesn’t.

“Alright, Richard. I’ll give the kid however long he wants to continue beating the crap out of you. Then we’ll make a deal, yeah?”

“Sounds good, Stark.” Then Richard’s head bobs back towards Harley, looking numb and delusional with his triumphant bloody grin. “Gimme your worst kiddo.”

And Harley does. By the time he’s finished with him, he’s panting and the wrappings around his hand were stained red with blood, as well as the exposed portion of his fingers and wrist. The man’s face was practically caved in, his nose was surely broken, and he’d even tried breaking a few more ribs. Sometimes it worked sometimes it didn’t, but he had once more been so overcome with anger that he lost track of time. 

He felt a hand rest on his shoulder as he stood back to stare at his handy work to really appreciate the job he’d done. 

“Sure did give him hell, didn’t ya kiddo,” Tony whispered softly, pulling the boy close to his side when he saw the anger slowly dissipate and spawn frustrated tears in his eyes. He combed a hand through the kid’s sweaty hair and pulled him away slowly. “I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks Tony,” Harley replied in a hoarse whisper and a tired smile.

Tony smiled back and reached for the boy’s hands and began unwrapping the bloody gauze. “Let’s get you outta these and get you some water while the bastard catches his breath.” Tony glances over at Richard’s wheezing form, bloodied and bruised from Harley’s beating. “You’re just a little natural at everything, aren't ya, Ace.”

Harley’s smile only grows at the praise. Then Rhodey appears beside Tony, also grinning as he forces the plastic cup of ice water into the kid’s hands. “Yep. I saw him boxing with Happy earlier… the kid’s picking up pretty good.”

Tony grins, looking down at the kid with a suggestive raise of his brows. “Oh really? Does that mean we’re due a rematch soon?”

“Yes!” Harley grins, bouncing excitedly on his toes as Tony peels off the rest of the wrappings. “Can we do it soon?”

Tony chuckles. “Soon, Bud. Cool your jets. We’ve still got a bit of work to do.”

“Oh yeah,” Harley looks back over at Richard. “Do you think he’ll actually say anything??” Harley nervously chews his lip. “He didn’t... He didn’t sound like he’d tell earlier.”

“I got ways to persuade him if he doesn’t.”

“But-” Harley starts protesting once more, but Tony shushes him with a hand over the mouth. 

“Shush. Don’t worry. I won’t let the truth die with him, alright? Trust me kid, I’ll take care of it.”

Harley nods. 

Tony tosses the messy wrappings onto the table and approaches Richard slowly.

“Alright, buddy,” Tony sighs patronizingly. “Let’s get on with this… As much as I hate to do it, I’ll only beat you within an inch of your life today, instead of killing you outright. And I’ll give you a month to recover while I’m outta the country. Then I’ll come back and take care of you once and for all.”

“You keep threatening to kill me Stark, yet here I am, still alive,” the man chuckles, both eyes swollen shut, but still smug as ever. Tony growls under his breath. “I’m starting to think you’re too scared.”

“Take it or leave it before I make Bruce concoct his own ridiculous truth serum and _then_ kill you.”

“Alright, alright.” Richard relented with a tired groan as he adjusts in his seat. “The night I went to the kid’s house I had just killed Peter’s mother.”

Tony growled.

“Found out she cheated on me and the bastard child wasn’t even mine.” His eyes narrowed into slits and his nostrils flared and he turned his blank gaze up at Tony. “So, you can’t blame me for being a bad father, Stark, when I wasn’t one to begin with.”

“Who is Peter’s father?” Tony questions instead of indulging the man’s deflection technique, suddenly worried by the chance of someone stepping all over his plans to claim the kid as his own. If Peter’s real Dad were to step in… he’d have to kill him. 

Richard looks between all three of them and groans softly before closing his eyes and leaning back in his chair. 

“My brother.”

“Name!” Tony growled. “I need a name.”

“Not that you’d be able to find him,” Richard sighed, “he’s changed his name too many times to count. The guy’s unstable.”

“What’s his name?”

“Ben Parker.”

Tony turns away with a deep growl rumbling at the back of his throat, just about to whip out his phone and dial up his people meant to take care of the situation, but then he sees Harley’s face. He looked confused and distraught at the lack of a direct answer. So, Tony lowers the phone back to his pocket and stands up straight.

“What does this have to do with Harley?”

Richard’s eyes open to roll onto Harley. “He’s your father, Keener… well… you’re not really a Keener, are ya?” He chuckled under his breath at the look in the boy’s eyes. “Yeah, you’re a Parker kid… I’m your Uncle Richard. And your father made a mistake… so I had to make sure his family paid the debt he owed me, and you had to fill his place. Had to make sure someone was there to take care of your bastard brother so I wouldn't have to.” 

The shit eating grin on Richard Parker's face was the last thing Harley saw before he ran from the room with no recollection of any other questions he may or may not have had for him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Right so I've been planning this chapter for a long time and I'm so excited I was finally able to execute it. I know we've been focusing on Harley lately, but I just had to make a full circle with his issues before I started focusing on something else... so now the pointless family fluff can commence for the next couple chapters while the fam is on vaca. Or at least sometimes soon lol
> 
> Also, a little something... I'll be introducing two new lovely characters once we hit Italy. And it will be quite the adventure XD
> 
> Lemme know your thoughts! I love hearing from you guys :)
> 
> Thank you for reading


	29. Chapter 29

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! Another chapter! Hope you guys are doing well and keeping safe.
> 
> Btw, the _italicized_ dialogue represents when someone is speaking in Italian.
> 
> Hope y'all enjoy!

“So, Thaddeus. Care to explain why Anthony has felt the need to claim those two boys as his illegitimate children?” 

Ross clears his throat and glances towards the closed door as he sits at his desk in the oval office, accompanied by the copious amount of papers that was beginning to pile up thanks to this apparent national “state of emergency” in response to the tension growing between Stark and Hydra. “I’m assuming it’s a way to dampen the consequences of a kidnapping claim in court, sir.”

The man on the other line hums in annoyance. “I thought I told you to find no courts and to find a way to quash Anthony’s attachment, and now he’s _one,_ going to court, and _two_ , adopting them?!”

“Well, it isn’t entirely my fault,” Ross defends himself, back going erect in his uneasiness. “I had Allen frame the Keener boy of working for you so he would just dismiss both the children and avoid a trial all together, but Stark ended up working himself up over it. He flew off his rocker and… rumor has it he attempted suicide because of it, sir… Allen had been sparse with the details over the phone. Stark is taking security measures much more seriously--”

“He _what_?!” 

Ross gulped, hating to admit that his skin tingled just a bit at the older man’s guttural growl. “He tried killing himself, sir. I’m sorry--“

“I heard you the first time, you _idiot_ .” The man snapped in a low tone before his voice was raising in volume once more. “That coward! I should’ve known this would happen. This attachment he has to these children will only prove to be a detriment to him. And _you_ . Don’t push the line with him, he’s been unstable since he found out about Obadiah. If he’s killed, his blood will be on your hands and I will _not_ be pleased.”

Ross remains silent, eyes glazing over the room for a moment before he’s bowing his head and lowering his gaze to his desk once more.

“I should have killed you instead of Fury; he would have had the job done by now. Do I have to do everything myself?”

“Sir, please, just give my contacts a little more time. Norman has a plan. All we need is to get Parker out of there and we can set the plan in motion. It’ll knock Stark on his ass and you won’t have to worry about those two boys interfering any longer...”

He was met with silence and then an exasperated sigh.

“I suppose I must let you learn from your mistakes first. All I ask is you make sure Richard finishes his work before confronting Anthony. Also, it is ill-advised to try anything while Anthony is still in Italy. That is a sacred place for the Stark family; and he has too much power there for you to ever gauge any parameter of success.” 

“We will not let you down sir,” Ross promises stoically. 

“You will,” the man replies with certainty, “but I will allow you to try despite your inevitable failure.”

“Would you like me to take care of his wife and child?”

There was a lengthy pause as the man deliberated over the matter. “No,” he responded eventually. “No, we must preserve the Stark line. After the child is finished nursing there may be need to take care of Ms. Potts. Perhaps that will finally teach him the lesson he should have learned years ago if he still proves to be distracted. But we’ll leave her alone for the time being. Focus on the boys. They need to go before Stark hands over his entire legacy to two incompetent bastard children.”

“Ok, I understand, sir,”

"In the meantime, please have Ben Reilly contact me. We have much to discuss about his recent failures to incapacitate a certain young boy.”

Ross feels a hard lump growing in his throat. “Of-of course sir.”

* * *

Tony’s eyebrows furrow in worry as he watches Harley sprint from the room. Then he turns his head to settle his scathing glare back on Richard Parker. “You better be so glad I’m a man of my word, Parker.”

“I’ve done nothing to warrant your anger Stark,” Richard mutters through a heavy cough. “It’s my brother you should be conspiring against. He’s the one that beat the boy and his sister half to death every night. I did nothing but care for him and his family when his father left. I’ve provided more than I had to for both of my nephews Stark. I’m the only reason they’re still alive today.”

“Stop feeding yourself lies to make yourself feel better about what you’ve done, you dick,” Rhodey muttered. His arms crossed over his chest and his eyes narrowed in anger. 

Richard scowled at him. “I’ve done nothing but good for those boys! You don’t know the half of it!”

Tony takes a step forward. “Then why don’t indulge us then?”

Richard’s nostrils flare as he contemplates the offer. He glances between both men erratically then puffs out a short breath. “All I’ve done is protect them. Sure, I got angry sometimes, but doesn’t every man? I kept them alive for two years after I found out about what my brother did to me, my wife, and Oscorp. I had every right to kill them; rid the earth of his bastard spawn, but I _didn't_. I gave Harley a home, a job, and a sense of purpose, and I gave Peter a father.” 

“Shut the hell up,” Tony growls, taking a threatening step forward. “You’ve got a twisted sense of morality Parker if you think what you did was good for them. You kept them around for appearances, to add another number to your long list of incompetent minions.”

Richard flashes him a coy grin. “What can I say, Stark. They’re smart and devious. Wasting good genes like that wouldn’t have been wise on my part.”

Tony’s nostrils flared angrily at the man’s flippant remarks against his children… “You gave up something great Parker, know that. Those boys will grow to be all you could have been and more.” He turns to Rhodey, expression skillfully blank of any anger from earlier. “I’ll be back down to beat him to hell soon. I need to go make sure the kid doesn’t end up hurting himself or something...”

He ignores whatever it was Richard was trying to goad him with as he left and headed in the direction of his private elevator. He’s gonna make that man regret everything he’d ever done and he’s going to shred him of every inch of his dignity until all that’s left is a pitiful crying lump of shit.

He rode the elevator up to the penthouse floor where JARVIS said the elevator had deposited Harley a few moments earlier. He stepped out of the lift and glanced around the empty and quiet expanse of his Living Room.

“Where’s Harley, JARVIS.”

“He is in his room with Master Peter, sir,” the AI answered.

So, Tony made his way down the hall to the boys’ shared room. The door was left slightly ajar, and he gently pushed it open and peeked inside. What he saw made his heart twist painfully in his chest. Whether it was out of pity or bliss, he wasn’t sure. He’s only glad that Harley has some semblance of family left to cling to.

Harley sat on the floor, legs spread and bent at the knees in a near upright fetal position. Peter stood in front of him, between his parted legs as the older boy hugged him tightly around his waist. Harley’s back was hunched over so his head could rest against Peter’s tiny shoulder as he repeatedly whispered “I’m sorry” over and over and over again through his breathless gasps for air. 

Peter took it like a champ. He remained unbothered as he gently stroked his little fingers through his brother’s sweaty curls. His tiny arms were wrapped loosely around the older boy’s neck in a protective embrace and his cheek rested against the top of his head as he whispered quiet assurances over Harley’s repeated apologies.

“It’s ‘kay, Ha’ley. It’s ‘kay. I love you.”

Tony stood silently to watch them, tears pricking at his eyes. He observes for a couple more moments before he slowly backs away from the door, not wanting to intrude on the intimate moment between the two brothers. He pulls the door shut, leaving it open a crack just as it had been.

“Inform me right away if either of them becomes any more distressed,” Tony instructs his AI’s firmly.

“Of course, sir,” JARVIS responds.

And, well, if Harley doted on Peter the rest of the night, he didn't mention it. 

* * *

“Up, up, up!” Tony shouts, swinging the boys’ bedroom door open and slapping his palm against the plastered wall beside it before flicking the light switch on and off obnoxiously. “C’mon sleeping beauties we gotta go.”

Peter whines, and Harley growls from where he has now buried his face beneath his pillow, both pulling their comforters over their heads. “It’s 3 in the morning Tony,” the teen mumbles.

“Oh c’mon don’t be like that,” Tony rolls his eyes, “we’re going on vacation, remember? You’re supposed to be happy.”

“Oh yeah!” Peter exclaims joyfully, bolting up in his bed, looking straight at Tony with wide eyes and a grinning mouth as his wild untamed curls stuck up every which way. “We goin’ on ‘cation!”

“That’s the spirit,” Tony chuckled, helping the little boy untangle from his sheets before he hurt himself by thrashing around the way he was. “Rhodey’s made you some special blueberry pancakes. Go eat then come back so I can brush your teeth and do your hair.” Peter bolts from the room, all squeals, and shouts despite the ridiculously early hour, but Harley doesn’t budge. His back was to Tony, blanket hiked up to his neck and Tony sighs.

“C’mon Ace. We gotta get going.” He sits down on the edge of the kid’s bed and settles a heavy hand on his shoulder instead of combing it through his tangled mess of hair peeking out from the blanket as was his first instinct. _Gosh when did he become such a softy_? 

“I don’t wanna go.”

Tony pursed his lips. “Is this Harley talking, or is this angsty teenager talking?”

“No,” Harley growled, “this is depressed, emotionally manipulated, and traumatized human being talking.”

“Oh, I see,” Tony indulges with a contemplative undertone, “I’ve yet to officially meet him. Though, he can’t be as charming as the old Harley I’m sure.”

At that Harley rolls off his side far enough so he could glare at him. “Are you really going to downplay what happened?”

“No, I’m balancing out your exaggerated up-play.”

Harley scowls at him and flops back over so his back is to him once more. “My reaction is perfectly normal for a person going through an identity crisis thank you very much.”

“You’re not having an identity crisis,” Tony sighs in slight exasperation.

“Yeah? Well, screw you.”

Tony’s grip on his shoulder tightens slightly as he musters the patience to keep from lashing out. He closes his eyes and pushes out a deep sigh before opening them again.

“Your identity hasn’t changed and you’re most definitely not having a crisis. You are Harley Stark. That’s who you’ve always meant to be and now and that’s who you’ll always be. That will never change no matter whose blood you got; no question about it. So, c’mon, get up. Stop sulking and let's go have some breakfast so we can get going, yeah?”

Harley groans and Tony stands from the bed, smacking him in the shoulder insistently. “Why can’t you just let me lay here and wallow in my own self-pity.”

“Because I’m goddamn ready to get outta this shithole country and my wife refuses to leave without you. So, let’s hustle.”

Tony left the room, and Harley groaned then rolled off the bed.

* * *

“I see it! I see it! I see it!” Peter cheers, bouncing excitedly on Tony’s knee as he peers out his window on the private jet to see the earlier blank slate of blue sky filled with green mountains and the discolored whites and oranges of the city. He cranes his head back to look at Tony for confirmation. “Is that it? Is that it?”

Tony grins wide for what seems like the first time in a while as he strokes a gentle hand through the boy’s hair. “It sure is, kiddo. These are our roots, our people. And you’re gonna love it here.” He glances up at Harley, sitting in the seat across from them, staring out his own window with a small smile creeping across his face for the first time that day. “Both of you will.”

Harley looks at him, feeling Tony’s gaze on him, and he smiles softly before turning his gaze back out to the view outside. 

Tony stands with Peter and sits the boy back in his seat before buckling him in and sitting back down in Peter’s old seat between him and Pepper. The kid looked too enraptured in the view to move him away. 

Pepper grabs his hand when he sits and leans her head against his shoulder. Tony cranes his neck to kiss the top of her head.

Things remain quiet and peaceful until the plane jolts as it touches down on the tarmac and Peter releases a celebratory squeal, thrashing wildly in his seat. “We’re here! We’re here!”

Tony chuckles and reaches over to unclasp his belt and Peter immediately darts towards the luxury couch at the back of the jet, jumping on and off and sprinting frantic circles around the entire cabin. Tony supposes most kids his age would be reacting the same way after being cooped up in a jet for 7 hours.

He made sure to keep a tight grasp on the boy’s hand as they descended the stairs of the jet. Then he hands off the kid to Harley after depositing them both next to the limo waiting on the tarmac and rushing back up to help Pepper down. 

Clint and Natasha, who Happy had chosen to fly ahead and accompany them for the duration of their trip, rushed up after him and Pepper to fetch their things. As Asher remained on guard at the car, wearing a black suit and a stoic frown.

Pepper and Tony approach the pair of boys waiting beside Asher at the limo. Peter’s still bouncing, grinning huge as he watches them as well as everything else around him. Harley’s hand remains tight around the younger one’s. Tony helps Pepper carefully step into the limousine then leans back to gesture the two boys in as well.

“Alright, c’mon you two knuckleheads. In you go.”

And if the boys happen to spend the half hour drive to HQ taking turns sticking their heads out the sunroof, oh well. He was just glad he didn’t have to worry about snipers on rooftops as they rode through the streets. This was his hometown, his turf. They were safe. No one was going to bother him and his family out here. He doubts even Hydra has the balls to target him out here.

The vehicle pulled to a stop in front of a familiar and fairly tall building lined beside the smaller dwellings. Tony grinned as he stepped out the door of the sleek limousine that Natasha was holding open for him. He pulled together the flaps of his suit jacket to button the pieces together before reaching up to adjust the sunglasses on his face. He glances to either side of him, at the row of cultured and colorful buildings lining the brick road. He raises a hand to wave at the familiar citizens smiling and waving happily in his direction from their balconies and bikes. 

“Antonio!” A certain pudgy man exclaimed from down the road, rushing towards him to wrap his arms around him in a crushing hug. Then grasping either side of his head to pull him down and kiss both his cheeks in a customary greeting Tony hadn’t realized he missed so dearly. 

He heard the familiar sound of a car door slamming, but he paid no attention to it. Then, one moment he was greeting an old family friend, and the next, he was being torn away by Romanoff herself as she sized up the flour-covered man with a scowl on her face and a hand reaching for the weapon Tony knew was hidden behind her back.

Tony frowned and forcefully grabbed her shoulder, pulling her away from his old friend with a sharp tug. “There’s no need for that.” He scolded lightly as she forced her shoulder out of his grip. He let her and turned back to his friend with an apologetic smile. “I apologize Domencio.” The man does nothing but grin, completely undeterred by Natasha’s threatening demeanor, as he then turns to the woman and reaches out to grab her hand.

Tony laughs as she stiffly allows the man to kiss the back of her hand, before quickly pulling it away. “Natasha, this is Domencio Artino. He’s an old family friend and he owns the bakery down the street, and a winery a while drive from here” he turns back to Domencio. “ _How is business these days, old friend?_ ” He speaks in flawless Italian with a natural accent flow that could rival any native.

“ _Quite well, quite well, Antonio,_ ” he grins, “ _I wasn’t expecting you so soon. I can’t believe I had to find out from Emilia of all people! Now where is dear Virginia? I missed her dearly._ ”

Tony turns, gesturing for Natasha to open the door she had slammed closed moments earlier. She frowns at him, and as Tony should have been expecting, both his boys nearly tumbled out onto the sidewalk when Natasha tugged open the door they were pressed against rather abruptly. He could hear Pepper laughing from inside the cabin. “I _told_ you not to lean on the door boys.”

“Antonio,” Domencio gasped, speaking in broken English, taking a step forward, “who is this?” Then he’s looking back at Tony and is speaking in rapid Italian once more. “ _Are these your boys Emilia said you mentioned in your video?”_

Tony nods his head and leans over to help fix the boys so they’re standing upright. “Yes,” he grabs Peter’s hand and gently tugs him forward. “This is Peter.” Then he grabs Harley and does the same. “And this is Harley.” He keeps one arm wrapped around Harley’s shoulder and rests his other hand on Peter’s chest as the boy leans backwards against his legs, clinging to his arm, as he stares wide-eyed up at the chubby man speaking weird words in front of him.

“Boys this is Zio Domencio.”

Peter cranes his head back to look up at him in confusion, but then Domencio was speaking again and grabbing the boy’s attention. “Oh, it is so good to meet you Pietro! And you Ha’ley! You both look just like ya father!” The older man leans forward to squeeze both Peter’s cheeks and then cup the boy’s face to kiss his forehead. He makes move to do the same to Harley, but the boy immediately takes a step back with a panicked look in his eyes.

Domencio throws his head back and laughs.

Tony laughs too and nudges Harley with his shoulder. Then he turns around to take over Natasha helping Pepper step out of the limo. She was already grinning and reaching out for Domencio by the time she was on her feet.

“Oh _Domencio! It has been too long_.” Pepper reaches for him to greet him with a kiss and Domencio happily obliges. When they break away, his hands fall to land on her belly and he smiles so bright it was nearly blinding, looking up at Tony. He turns to look up at Tony with a gasp.

“Antonio! Tre bambini?! _You need to visit more instead of just sending Jimmy all of the time. I am missing out on everything._ ” He throws his hands up in the air in mild exasperation and then points a playfully accusatory finger at Tony. “ _Just you wait until I tell Emilia! You will never hear the end of it._ ”

Pepper smiles. “ _Why don’t you two come over for dinner sometime this week?_ ” She turns to Natasha. “Have someone arrange for Domencio and Emilia to visit our villa for dinner in a few days.”

“ _Oh, yes,_ ” Domencio agrees, “ _I will bring the good wine. It is one of my best sellers!_ ”

“Mrs. Stark, your villa is not supposed to be allowed access to the public. It is for your own safety--”

“It’s quite alright, Romanoff,” Tony interrupts with a smile. “Domencio might as well be family despite however many times he’s declined to join the family business. This place is different from the states. There is no need to be so suspicious of everyone. Everyone here is our friend.” He gestures to the small parade passing by them, instead of crowding, and he waves to them as they shout out happy greetings. “We are safer here than any other place. These people know how to respect privacy.”

Natasha grumbles under her breath and moves towards the trunk where Clint was busy grabbing their bags from the trunk. 

“ _Are you not staying at your usual home down near the coastal vineyard?_ ” Domencio asked Pepper curiously.

“ _No, we bought a new home a ways down the street near the old Cromby Orchard. Tony wanted more yard space for the boys to run around and have fun. We haven’t seen it ourselves, so we’re all very excited. We’re going up to see it tomorrow. It’s not quite ready for us tonight so we decided to stop here for the night to say hi to everyone while a few of the guys fixed it up._ ”

Pepper and Domencio continue their conversation and Tony offers a few words to the conversation at some points where it is appropriate. Then he feels a small tug on his pants, and he glances down to see Peter looking up at him with his arms raised in an insistent gesture to be held. So, Tony picks him up, expecting the boy to rest his head on his shoulder and go to sleep after their long day of travelling and the drastic time change, but instead he cups his small hand around Tony’s ear and whispers softly. “Why is Mama and you talking so weird to that man?”

Tony laughs, patting the boy on the leg and pressing a loving kiss to his cheek. “That’s called a different language, buddy. We usually speak English in New York, but now we’re in Italy. So, we speak Italian.” 

Peter’s lip juts out in a pout and he crosses his arms over his chest in either frustration or distress. Tony wasn’t sure. “But I don’ know how to speak that.”

“Well I don’t either Peter,” Harley pipes up quickly to reassure him. Hand lifting to comfort him by stroking his small back, “so we’re kinda in the same boat here.”

“Don’t worry,” Tony says, “I’ll make sure you both learn your fair share while you’re here.”

“That’s right!” Pepper pipes up, turning away from her conversation with Domencio to kiss Peter on the cheek as well. “And maybe Zio Domencio will tell you all about Italy when he comes to visit us. And maybe if you ask nicely, he’ll tell you some fun stories about Daddy when he was a little boy like you.”

“Well, doesn’t that sound like a ball,” Tony replied sarcastically, giving only half his attention as he coached Clint on which bags they needed for the night stay. “But why don’t we head in and get settled. You’re not supposed to be on your feet for this long Pepper.”

“That sounds like a good idea,” Pepper nodded, hand braced against her abdomen. “ _We’ll speak soon Domencio._ ” She kissed the shorter man on both cheeks and allowed herself to be guided into the extravagant building Tony was herding her into. Harley followed them, as did both Natasha and Clint with their bags as Asher went to go park the car.

“I can’t believe I’ve been demoted to toting around bags,” Harley could hear Clint mutter under his breath as he shouldered his way through the door behind Natasha who had seamlessly squeezed past the guards without a hitch.

Harley chuckled, craning his head around to watch Natasha berate him as he clumsily banged Pepper’s heavy overnight bag into one of the pillars by accident. 

It was pretty funny. 

“Shut up,” she hissed, “at least I bailed you outta the quarantine floor and saved you from a month of boredom and shunning. Stop complaining.”

Clint childishly stuck his tongue out at her. “It’s just ‘cause Hogan’s got a crush on you that we got to come and you know it.”

Harley’s eyes bug out in surprise.

_Happy’s crushing on Natasha??_

“Harley!” His head whips back around when Tony yells his name. “Catch up kid. Stick with us or you’ll get lost.” 

Harley speeds up his pace to fall in line beside Tony and Pepper. Peter looked about ready to conk out on Tony’s shoulder. Then Tony turns to one of their escort guards and smiles. “ _Why don’t you help Romanoff and Barton get those bags upstairs to our rooms in one piece?_ ” He nods his head in the direction of the pair several yards behind them as they come to a stop at what appears to be a blank wall.

“Sì, signore,” the man replies with a genuine smile.

Then the wall parts away into a small room that Harley assumes to be a very large elevator. He hears Peter’s gasped whisper of “ _Whoa_ ” and he has to keep himself from gawking as well.

“ _Would you like to go straight up to your rooms, sir, or would you care to go down and convene on the common floor with everyone_?”

“Take us up first, Sneakers. _I’ll go down once I have Pepper and the boy’s situated. You did have two extra rooms prepared, correct?”_

“Sì, signore.” Then with that, the doors to the elevator close and they’re making their ascent.

“Is JA’VIS here?” Peter questioned, lifting his head from Tony’s shoulder and glancing up at the ceiling. “We didn’ tell JA’VIS where to go, Daddy.”

“No, we have _VISIONE_ here. He doesn’t talk like JARVIS does, but he’s always listening in case you need something.”

Peter’s nose scrunches adorably in confusion. “Wha’s Vizz-vizy-vizone?”

“You can Just call him VISION kiddo. And JARVIS is weaved into his mainframe, so if you really need to talk to him, he’ll be there, alright? I’ll even set up a nice little watch for you to wear so you can talk to him whenever you want.”

Peter’s head flops back against his shoulder. “Okay.”

* * *

As the boys are off exploring their rooms Tony helps Pepper to bed, gently tucking the blankets around her and adjusting the pillows behind her head so she could nap comfortably. 

“Are you good? Do you need anything? You thirsty? Hungry? You’re not feeling too tired are you, I know we’ve had a long day.”

Pepper reaches up to cup his face/ Then she draws him down to her so she could give him a soft kiss. “I’m fine, Honey. I promise. If anything, I’m feeling as relaxed as I’ve ever been.” 

Tony grins against her mouth and kisses her again, slow, and deep as his tongue slips into her mouth. He braces one hand on her hip and slides down to sit on the edge of the mattress, other hand lifting to cup the side of her jaw and crane her head up for a better angle. Her moans are soft and quiet as always, and they drive him absolutely wild.

“Pepper,” he breathes harshly against her cheek, breathing her all in, before locking their lips together once more. “Light of my life,” he whispers. “I love you.”

“I love you too,” Pepper whispers back. Then she shifts slightly to reach her hand up and thread her fingers through her husband’s hair, lips throbbing and lungs stinging as he kisses her again and again and again with a heated urgency that hadn’t been there in the beginning.

Then, he’s moving. He doesn’t break from their kiss as he lifts himself from his perch on the bed and arches his back to throw one leg over hers so he’s effectively straddling her, pinning her down while being careful of her very pregnant belly. He breaks away for only a moment to rise to his knees and he’s back at it, grabbing for her wrists to pin them above her head.

“Tony,” she laughs into his mouth, turning her head away from him to break the kiss that was quickly getting out of hand. But his hunger for her is insatiable apparently and he continues his ministrations along her neck and across her collarbone. “Tony, stop,” she giggles, pulling at her wrists to escape his hold. She feels the sharp bristles of his goatee drag across the sensitive column of her throat and she moans. “Oh my god you gotta stop,” she hissed, “the kids could come in at any second.”

“I really don’t give a shit,” Tony growls against her skin, roughly forcing her wrists back in place against the mattress.

“Tony!” She scolds.

“I’ll just have VISION lock the door for a few minutes. They won’t even know the difference.”

Pepper huffs, then squeals loudly when Tony suddenly bites down on her earlobe… _her ears had always been sensitive_. Tony quickly releases one of her wrists to slap a hand over her mouth and he chuckles low and deep within his throat as a dark, teasing smile passes over his face. “Honey, for this to work you’re gonna have to be quiet.”

“Tony, what has gotten into you?” Pepper hisses in delight when he nips at her collar.

“It’s the city of Love, my dearest,” he answers huskily, kissing his way up to her chin and back to her lips.

Pepper laughs against his mouth. “I’m pretty sure you’re thinking of Paris, Tony. Last I checked we’re not in France.”

“Mhm, not too sure about that.”

“Tony,” Pepper gently pushes at his chest, “this is the absolute worst time to be doing this and you know it. If Peter tries coming in and the door is locked, he’s gonna cry his goddamn eyes out.”

Tony’s eyes close and he breathes out slowly. “I love it when you curse. Say it again.”

“Tony!” Pepper slaps him on the chest. “Later.”

“But I’m horny _now_ , Pepper.” He whines petulantly. “This is the first time in forever we’ve been along together and weren’t completely exhausted.”

“Tonight,” she promises, a small smile inching across her face as she slowly wrapped her arms around his neck, “after the boys have gone to bed we can get up to all the debauched love-making you desire.”

Tony kisses her again which is followed by a quiet sigh. “A new country, in a new building, in a new room all by himself almost guarantees we’ll be having a bunkmate tonight Pepper.”

She pulls him down for one more soft kiss. “Mmm, well if we do it right after you put him down for bed, that should buy us an hour or so.”

Tony pumps his eyebrows obnoxiously and carefully begins to climb off her.

“ _Now_ who’s the horny one.”

She scoffs at him and waves him away. “Get out of here before I change my mind.”

“Alright, alright, I’m going.” He fixes his clothes and fusses over his hair for a moment before making his way towards the double doors leading out. “I’ll be back soon, my love.” He blows her a quick kiss then opens one of the doors just in time to hear the excited patter of tiny feet running down the hall. 

_“Daddy, daddy! Look at my new toy!”_

* * *

“So, do you guys both like your rooms okay?” Tony asked as they rode the elevator down several floors… which kinda freaked Harley out a bit considering they were already pretty close to the bottom floor to begin with. He supposes he’s just used to the Tower and going up and up and up whenever he gets in an elevator. Maybe this place just goes down and down and down instead. Which he supposed made sense since it seemed all the rooms on the upper floors were for personal use.

“Yeah!” Peter shouted with a bright grin; he waved his new toy robot towards Tony as if to prove it. “I got so many cool toys! And books too.”

“Well that’s good to hear. What about you, Ace?” He turns to Harley and the boy nods stiffly. 

“Of course, yeah. It’s awesome. It’s-It’s really big too.” The teen doesn’t sound very enthusiastic and it was easy to spot the forced smile that spread slowly across his face.

“Well we wanted to make sure you got your own space. But don’t get too settled in. Tonight’s probably gonna be the only night you two are gonna stay the night here. We’re gonna head out tomorrow afternoon to get settled in our new villa.”

Peter tugs on his hand to get his attention. “What’s that?”

“It’s a house, Petey. It has a yard and a pool and everything. You boys will love it.”

“Cool,” Harley nods, placing a hand over his mouth as he yawns. “Where we goin’ now?”

Tony cocks his head to shoot him a wink and a coy smile. “We’re going to the dining area to eat dinner with everyone. They’re all jumping at the bit to meet you two.”

“What? Why?” 

If Tony wasn’t mistaken, he’d say Harley sounded a bit panicked.

“Well, they’re bound to wanna meet the new Stark Princes.”

“I don’ wanna be a princess!” Peter immediately argued. His face screwed up in frustration before melting into a mischievous smile.  “I wanna be a King!” He thrusts the robot fisted in his hand into the air to enunciate his declaration.

Tony throws his head back and laughs. He ruffles the boy’s hair. “One day Buddy. I promise.” 

The elevator doors slide open and Tony steps out with Peter’s hand in his. 

“Nice of you to finally make an appearance Stark,” a smooth, familiar voice greets them. Tony smiles at his old friend and holds out a hand to shake which the man happily obliged to.

“Well, I’ve missed you too, Loki. It’s nice to see you.” Tony replied sarcastically, pulling the slim man into a quick hug, and slapping him on the back before pulling away. 

Loki chuckled and looked down at Peter who was smiling up at him shyly, one arm wrapped around Tony’s leg.

“Well, hello there young Stark,” a grin spreads across his face and then he glances towards Tony. “Which boy is this one?”

“This one is Peter,” Tony answers, the corner of his mouth lifting as he looks down at the kid too. 

“So that means you must be Harley.” Tony turns his head to look at where Loki’s words and gaze was directed. Harley stood a couple feet behind him and he beckoned the kid closer with a slight nudge of his chin. The kid obeys and sticks out his arm to shake Loki’s hand.

“Yes’sir.”

“You picked a polite one, Stark. You sure he can live up to your nasty reputation?” Loki teased.

Tony snorted and released Peter’s hand to reach over and pull Harley closer by wrapping his arm around the kid’s shoulders. “He’s a brat once you get to know him, trust me. Aren't ya kid?”

Harley rolls his eyes, but a smile creeps across his face. “Whatever makes ya feel better, old man.”

Loki throws his head back and laughs and waves them along to follow him. “Everyone’s waiting for you. Come on.” 

Loki leads them right up to a pair of fancy double doors that are at least two Harley’s high. “Wow.”

Then Loki pushes one of the doors open and immediately the commotion inside could be heard. Chanting, hollering, laughing, the whole nine yards. Harley hesitates at the threshold, but Tony walks right on through with a pleased smile on his lips. The main floor was a story below and the wide doors let them out on a second-floor landing with a wide arcing staircase leading down like they were in a castle. Heck, so far, the whole place was like a castle.

Tony continues forward to lean against the banister, looking out over the rambunctious crowd of people dining together. Peter stands on his tip toes, hand grasping Tony’s once more as he tries to pull himself up to look over the rail.

“Attenzione!” The dining hall immediately silences. A few dish clatters can be heard as every eye turns to the man leaning smugly against the balustrade of the overlook. Eager ears listening for what the man had to say. 

Tony raises an arm dramatically as if he’s absorbing the attention, chin in the air. “Sono tornato!”

And cheers erupt in response. Hoots and hollers interspersed with sharp whistles and joyous shouts. Tony eats it up. While the ruckus continues, he bends down to lift Peter onto his hip so everyone could see, then he turns and reaches towards Harley in a vague gesture for him to step up beside him. Harley obeyed and stood stiffly at Tony’s side as he looked over the rows of tables below them.

A curt, sharp whistle escapes Tony’s mouth to garner their attention once more and Harley just barely catches a glimpse of the man’s lip between his teeth when he whips his head to look at him in surprise. The room silences and Harley can’t help but feel quite impressed with Tony’s ability to control the room. 

“ _Everyone, these are my boys,_ ” Tony speaks with a loud booming voice. “Harley and Peter _._ ”

Harley understands nothing more than when Tony spoke their names. He can already tell that this month is going to be a struggle for him with all the unnecessary touching from strangers and discussions he could barely understand.

“ _I expect you to welcome them into this family as proper heirs to my title. Show the same honor and respect as you do me._ ” 

Tony trades his gaze between the two boys and smiles broadly, as does the crowd. “Well boys... Benvenuti nella Famiglia."

Cheer erupts once more, and Harley feels Tony pull him roughly into his side as they look out at the crowd like the dramatic nutcases they were. It felt eerily similar to the Lion King and Harley’s suddenly hit with the realization that _yes, this is happening. This is real. He was technically the son to the leader of the most powerful mafia organization on the planet._ And _yes, these people were treating him and Peter like Princes_. Just like Tony had said.

Then, before he knows it, he’s being swept off his feet by strong arms wrapping around his waist from behind and he yelps loudly in surprise. Then he’s being lifted, _oh god, that’s high_ , and he flails just a bit before he’s awkwardly perched on a stranger’s broad shoulder. 

He unconsciously reaches for Tony, but his captor is already marching away. Tony’s laughing at him and he follows whoever this is that is carrying him, and Loki picks up the back. 

“ _The Starks have returned_!” The voice below him thunders exuberantly in Italian, much less melodic than he’s heard thus far. The man descends the stairs, keeping a strong arm laid over Harley’s lap to keep him steady, but that didn’t quash his nerves. They move through the throng of people who have since sat down and were chattering happily while eating their meal. Several wave at him, and he shyly waves back, glancing at Tony behind him with uncertainty dancing behind his eyes.  Tony only smiles back at him proudly, and Harley can’t help but feel a little better. Then he spies Peter waving animatedly with several chirps of ‘hi, I’m Peter,’ as he greeted everyone they passed.

But then he’s moving again, and he can’t help but feel his heart plummet as the large man practically drops him to the ground. “Whoa,” he chokes. Then just before the soles of his shoes can scrape the floor, arms tuck beneath his armpits and hold him up like he was a small child. That’s when Harley gets a good look at the man, all smiles, big muscles, and blonde hair. 

“It is so nice to finally meet you, young Stark.” Then they’re hugging… he doesn’t know why, but he’s being crushed against the large man in a strong hug and he can’t breathe!

“Alright, brother, let the child go. There is no need to crush him.” 

And just like that, he’s released and falling gracelessly into the seat beside the head of the table at a relatively unbusy end of the room.

“Thor,” Tony smiles as he gently places Peter in the seat across from Harley. “How you been, pal?”

Tony barely has time to brace himself before the brick wall of a man is colliding into him and wrapping him in a massive hug big enough to lift him quite literally off his feet.

“Alright, big guy calm down,” he chuckled, awkwardly patting the inhumanly large bicep of the man from where his arms had been pinned to his sides.

“You have been gone far too long, Stark.”

“I know I have,” Tony sighs as Thor slowly lowers him back to his feet. “Things have just been so busy back in the States.” He moves towards the head of the table and rubs his hands together excitedly. “Now, I’m starved. What has Julio cooked up for us today?”

Thor eagerly moves around the table to take the seat next to Peter, and Loki sits down next to Harley. 

“You’re favorite of course, Stark,” Loki smiles, “Chicken piccata, fresh scallops, smashed potatoes and homemade buttered noodles.”

Just then a sharply dressed man, one could only assume to be a waiter, appeared with a large silver tray in his hand as he began slowly placing the meal in front of Tony one plate at a time. Tony smiled and licked his lips. He looked up at the waiter and smiled. “ _Wait here a minute, please._ ” 

He turns to Peter, who had since stood in his chair to lean over the table and stare down at the dish of foreign food on his father’s plates. “Does any of this look yummy, Pete?”

Peter’s nose wrinkles as he studies the various plates, then his tiny hand reaches for one of the buttered noodles and he shoves it in his mouth quickly. 

“It good?” Tony questioned with an amused chuckle, watching Peter’s face closely. The boy quickly nods his head and reaches for another noodle from Tony’s bowl. 

“Ah-ah-ah, I want you to try the chicken and potato first.” He grabs a knife and slices off a quick chunk of each. Peter pouts, of course, but he allows Tony to push the seasoned foods perched on the fork past his lips anyways.

In the end, Peter’s going back for the noodles, and Tony sighs in happy amusement. He takes the bowl of noodles and places it in front of Peter, pressing a fork into his hand so he’d stop eating with his fingers. 

“ _Who are you and what the hell have you done with Tony Stark?_ ” A new voice interrupted as Tony placed his own fork down beside his plate. His head snaps over to see the woman take the seat on Thor’s other side, wearing a smug grin.

“ _It’s a new me, Valkyrie. Get used to it._ ”

The woman rolls her eyes at him. She shoves a large forkful of noodles into her mouth and waves at Harley in a polite greeting. Harley waves back with a small smile.

Then Tony turns back to the server and smiles. A server had come and gone to deliver food for both Thor and Loki as well, but neither had touched their food while they watched Tony’s interaction with Peter. Both apparently just as shocked as the woman was by Tony’s new indifference towards sharing his food… fork too for that matter. Tony pointedly ignores them.

“ _We’ll need another bowl of the buttered noodles. And have someone whip up a couple of those chicken tenders I called ahead for would ya_. And some chilled apple juice in a sippy cup, please. No glass for him and no ice.”

“Si, signore.” 

Then Tony’s turning to Harley. 

“You wanna try a bite kid, see if you want any?”

“Well-well, I mean, I’m not all that picky--”

“Why don’t you try the scallops to make sure you like it? Have you ever had one before?”

Harley shook his head as he looked down at the squishy lumps covered in all kinds of reds and greens.

“Alright, take a bite.” He nudges his plate of scallops for Harley to pick from and turns back to the man patiently waiting for Tony’s attention to return to him. “ _How’s the wine this season? Any from Domencio’s?_ ” 

“ _We have a wide selection set aside just for you, sir. Selected by Mr. Ardino himself. Would you like me to bring out a few bottles for you to try?_ ”

“ _That would be lovely thank you.”_ Then he’s turning back to Harley. “Made your mind up, kid?”

“Uh yeah, I think I want the--”

“Tell him, not me,” Tony gestures to the server standing beside the table, listening aptly to what he has to say. 

“Uhh, but I don’t speak Italian.”

“Just tell him, kid. He won’t bite. At least not while I’m here.”

Harley can hear the distinct sound of Loki snorting behind him and his nose wrinkles in annoyance as he glances up at the server and tells him what he wants with over exaggerated gestures and words.

“Okay, um, the pollo? That’s chicken, right? Uhh. Yeah, looks um, excellente. And uhh. Well…” he turns to look at Tony. “How do I say ‘everything’ in Italian?”

“Tutto, signore,” the server speaks before Tony can even open his smirking mouth. Harley looks at him. 

“What?”

“The Italian word for everything is Tutto, signore. What would you like to drink for your meal?”

Harley blinks.

“You speak English?”

“Yes. What would you like to drink, signore? Your father called ahead for quite the variety to be stocked before your arrival. We have apple juice, grape juice, orange juice, cranberry juice, pine--”

“I’ll just have water. Thanks!” Harley interrupted, turning away abruptly to cradle his head in his hands with an embarrassed sigh. 

The server leaves and the table erupts with howls of laughter. Thor bangs his fist on the table, jostling the dishes and startling Peter away from his noodles. Loki, chuckles, eyes alight with amusement, as well as Valkyrie and another lady, who had apparently magically appeared beside Loki, were laughing at him too. How humiliating. 

He turns to face a hysterical Tony, a scowl eating at his features. 

“Why’d you embarrass me like that?“ 

“I didn’t do anything, kid. That was all you.”

“You told me to tell him my order,” Harley hissed.

“Exactly. I didn’t tell you to let lose your Spanish skills on him.”

Harley scowls at him and sticks out his tongue before grabbing for the plate of chicken the man was eating and pulling it towards himself.

“Hey, I was eating that!” Tony protested, fork floating above the placemat his plate had recently been sitting on.

“Well now _I’m_ eating it, _and_ I’m telling Mom you embarrassed me in front of everyone.”

Tony snorts and moves on to his scallops. “It’s my word against yours, kid.”

“And mine!” Peter chirped; face stuffed with noodles as he pointed an accusing finger at Tony. “You ‘barassed Ha’ley.”

“And me!” Thor shouts eagerly with a grin. 

“Wow, I can sure feel the love.”

“Mine as well,” the new lady announced, raising her hand as she gracefully placed a piece of chicken in her mouth.

“Okay-okay, I get the picture. You prefer my kid over me-- really Cho? After all we’ve been through?”

The woman sitting beside Thor smiled and shrugged her shoulders, then she winked at Harley. “Well he’s much cuter than you, Stark.”

Tony frowns. “I take offense.”

A ripple of laughter follows the statement, and Harley smiles, ducking his head to shyly push a piece of chicken in his mouth. He doesn’t miss Tony’s wink directed at him either.

* * *

Dinner was followed by a very unorganized meet and greet. Basically, Tony led Peter and Harley around the dining hall to meet anyone and everyone who dared approach… which was practically everybody. Harley’s absolutely certain he will never be able to remember all the names. And god, the kissing. He could do with a lot less kissing and a lot less hugging. He’s had his fair share of touching for the foreseeable future… at least when it came to strangers. Peter loved it though. He ate up all the kisses and was eager to return them with his own, unlike Harley who had simply stood stock still as many pudgy and beefy men grasped him by the shoulders and kissed both his cheeks. It wasn’t as weird when the woman did it, but it was still not something he’d seek out on a regular occasion. Peter, though, had happily been passed around from one person’s arms to the next, hugging them and greeting them with a “ _Ciao! Sono Peter!_ ” that Tony had taught him.

Tony had known everyone though, and he had been more than happy to see everyone once again.

“Alright, it’s pretty late,” Tony announced through a yawn as they stepped off the elevator into the hallway their bedrooms were located. “It’s about time for bed, don’t you think?” 

Peter’s head was on his shoulder. The boy was tuckered out, sort of floating between a blissful haze of consciousness after the night of abundant affection and sleep. Tony passes the boy off to Harley gently. “Get him dressed for bed, would ya Buddy? I gotta go make sure your mother is doing alright. His overnight bag should be on his bed.”

Harley nods. “Okay. Does he need a bath or something?”

Tony rubs his eyes and yawns once more, already moving down the hall. “No, he should be fine. Maybe just clean his face with a cloth, and make sure he brushes his teeth.”

“Daddy” Peter protests with a loud whine, arm outstretched towards him when Harley starts moving in the other direction towards Peter’s adjacent room. 

“I’ll come tuck you in in a few minutes, Squirt. Don’t worry.”

Sure enough, a few minutes later found Tony sitting on the edge of Peter’s toddler bed as he tucked him in for the night after the boy had said goodnight to Pepper.

“How do you like it here so far, Bud?” Tony asked, arranging a couple of the stuffed animals next to Peter’s head.

“I like it lots,” Peter grins through a wide yawn. “I like my room too!” He gestures around at the array of toys scattered across his blue decorated room. 

“Well, you can bring as much of this stuff as you want to the new house. We haven’t had much time to get your room all gussied up like this one,” Tony brushed hair out of Peter’s face and smiled. “But I’ll be taking you and your brother out at some point to pick out some decorations for your rooms. You can make it however you want.”

“I’m gonna make it just like this! It’s like a castle! An-and I want some dragons.” Peter declared. 

“Alright, that sounds good, Bug.” Tony chuckled. Then he stood slowly from the bed and reached over to flick off the lamp. “Sleep tight.”

* * *

Tony was awoken from his sleep at the familiar patter of feet entering his room. He chuffed softly and rolled away from where his chest was pressed up against Pepper’s back. He stretched and glanced at the time on his bedside clock then rubbed his eyes. Two o’clock. Seems like the kid lasted longer than expected. He guessed 10; Pepper guessed 12. 

“Hey, kiddo,” he groaned softly, blinking lethargically as he groped around for the lamplight to turn on so he could actually see the kid.

The light flickered on and he squinted at the harsh shine.

“Hey, Tony,” Harley whispered shyly in response, and Tony forced his eyes open to see the teen carrying Peter in his arms. “Uhh, Pete um… Pete’s upset.”

Tony sits up on his elbows and gestures for him to move closer. “Is he okay? Did he have a nightmare?”

“I don’t know. He hasn’t woke up yet.”

Tony furrowed his brows and reached an arm out for Harley to give him Peter. The teen obliged and Tony gathered the lump of heat and gangly limbs into his arms. The kid seemed alright. No tear tracks and no traces of a night terror.

“He seems alright to me,” Tony muses softly, combing through Peter’s hair as he settles the boy to comfortably lie beside him. Harley shuffles awkwardly beside the bed and scratches his head nervously.

“Yeah, well, um… I-I heard him crying a bit in his sleep an-and I thought he might be getting another nightmare. I-I didn’t want it to get worse and make him all scared, y’know. So-so I thought if I, like, brought him straight here to you guys, he’d be okay again.”

Tony watched Harley’s face screw in worry and the way he wrung his hands nervously in front of him as he stared down at Peter, and for a moment Tony felt that maybe the whole thing with Richard had hit the kid harder than he thought.

“Kid, look at me.” Harley did as he was told, eyes wide and bloodshot. 

“Hey,” Tony spoke softly, beckoning the kid closer and grabbing his wrist, “how’d you hear him crying from your room all the way down the hall?”

“I-I-I just have real good hearing,” Harley stuttered.

“Bullshit...” Tony accused with a sad smile. “Y’know I gave you two separate rooms because I thought you might appreciate the space.”

“I-I _do_ , Tony. I-I really appreciate you and Pepper giving me my own room…”

“Then why were you in Pete’s room instead of sleeping like you should be doing at 2 in the morning? Does this happen to have anything to do with what Richard told you?”

Harley drew in a sharp breath and turned his head away from Tony to stare at the wall across the room. His mouth opened then twitched before his breath hiccupped. “I-I,” he choked with a quiet keen, “I just… I-I didn’t know. If I had known… If-if-if I’d known I woulda tried harder.” Harley dropped his head and muffled a sob in his chest before taking another sharp gasp of air. He makes a move to flee the room, but Tony’s grip on his wrist tugs him closer to the bed.

“Hey, look at me,” Tony instructs sharply. 

Harley shakes his downturned head and speaks again. “I-I just don’t want him to be alone.”

“He’s not alone Harls. He was just sleeping. You don’t have to worry about him. He’s safe here. This is the safest place for him,” he squeezes the boy’s hand and sighs, “and you’re safe here too. You do know that, right?”

Harley’s response was a forced nod and Tony had a feeling the kid wasn’t too keen to share his true feelings on the matter.

“Thank you for bringing him to us though. You’re a really great big brother.”

Harley doesn’t say a word, and he doesn’t look up at Tony either. 

“I think maybe you should try and get some sleep,” Tony sighed eventually when it was clear Harley wasn’t planning to continue their conversation. “Do you want me to come, like, um… tuck you in or something?”

Harley shakes his head quickly and he swallows visibly, but he doesn’t make a move to leave the room.

And then he’s shuffling on his feet again and tugging at the hem of his pajama shirt before he looks up at Tony with red tinted cheeks. “Would it--um… would it be, like, awkward or something if I slept here tonight?”

Tony freezes for a split second before his head kicks back into gear and he starts shuffling away from the edge of the bed. “Of course it’ll be awkward, but that hasn’t stopped us before. Hop in, kid.”

Harley’s eyes widened and if it were possible his cheeks seemed to redden even further. “O-oh… I just-- I mean, um. I could just sleep on the floor.”

Tony was not impressed.

“You are not sleeping on the floor. Now, you can go cuddle up on Pepper’s side if you’re more comfortable with that or you can sleep next to me and Pete. This King bed is more than enough for the four of us.”

Harley’s eyes flickered between Tony and the blanket covered form of Pepper. He grinds his teeth in nervous contemplation, unsure of who to go to, or if he should go to either of them at all. Tony must pick up on his indecision and he slowly starts shuffling back towards the edge of the bed. 

“Why don’t you take the middle, kid? That way you don’t have to choose.”

Harley’s shuffling picks up a bit, but then he’s nodding stiffly and moving towards the bed. He makes a point to avoid eye contact with Tony as he carefully climbs over his legs to slip his way into the middle of the bed. Tony pulls back the covers for him so he could slip beneath them. 

The instant he settles into the comfy bed he’s encompassed with a wave or warmth and security, and he’s pretty sure he melts into the mattress.

“You comfy?” Tony chuckles beside him as he gently situates Peter on his other side.

“Y-yeah,” Harley whispers before a single choked chuckle escapes him. “Yeah, it’s kinda nice… I-I see why Peter likes it so much.” He closes his eyes slowly and basks in the warmth. A loose feeling of relief flows through him and his tight muscles loosen with each intake of breath, as if his body is finally allowing him to relax in the comfort and security of his parents. In their bed… because that’s what kids do… they go to their parents after they have nightmares or when they’re upset. And the parents hug them and protect them until the kids aren’t scared anymore… this is what it’s like. 

Warm tears prick at his eyes and his chest tightens with pent up emotion.

Tony shifts beside him as the man slowly rolls onto his side so he’s facing Harley. Then his large, calloused hand lifts to his face and a warm thumb strokes right beneath his eye as it wipes away a tear and Harley turns his face into the touch in an unspoken request for more.

Rough knuckles skirt softly across his cheekbones and he swears he can hear a quiet hum coming from Tony’s chest and he moves in closer. The hand settles, cupping his jaw. Fingers brush through the hair behind his ear as the same thumb strokes beneath his eye in soft, rhythmic movements. Then his head is being pulled forward and he feels the man press a loving kiss to his hairline. 

“You’re safe. I will always keep you safe; remember that if nothing else,” he whispers quietly, thumb never ceasing in the comforting strokes. “You can sleep now. You got Mom and Dad manning both sides, bambino. We won’t let anything happen to you or your brother. Now go to sleep. We’ve got another big day tomorrow.”

Harley draws in a sharp gasp, and his chin quivers, but he nods his head anyway.

He’s okay. Everything’s okay. It’s _really_ okay. Or at least he thought he was until he felt Tony start pulling away.

He doesn’t mean to, but he does… he lurches forward and hugs him tight; nose nuzzling into the crevice of his neck as his tight sobs escape him. “I love you,” he rasps through his tears as he scrabbles to keep a firm hold on the man. “I love you,” he repeats. He couldn’t care less about how awkward and embarrassed he was going to feel in the morning… it just felt right.

And then Tony’s hugging him too, pulling him in close. “I love you too, kiddo.” Then he kisses the crown of his head. Once, Twice, three times and _okay_ maybe he’s not as adverse to kisses as he thought he was. “I know neither of us are the best at wearing our hearts on our sleeves,” Tony mutters, “but never doubt how much I love you, kid, because I do. I do. A helluva lot more than I should love a kid I only met a few months ago.”

“Ditto,” Harley rasps softly and Tony chuckles as he gives the kid one last squeeze. They pull away and Tony rolls back onto his back, gently pulling Peter back into his side once more. 

And, okay, yeah, Harley’s going to totally hate himself in the morning, but he sidles up into Tony’s other side, tentatively moving to cuddle into him. He allows himself to enjoy the moment when Tony’s arm wraps around his shoulder and pulls him close again.

Then he falls asleep, and it’s quite possibly the best sleep he’s had in his life.

* * *

“Rhodes here,” Rhodey answers as he pokes at his dinner with his fork. “What’s wrong now, Steve?”

“Rhodes!” Steve whispered harshly; breath heavy. “They’ve found me out. I-I need--”

Rhodey stands abruptly from his chair and makes a gesture with his hand and several of the other men seated at the table stand as well. “We’re going to come help out. Where are you?”

“I’m still at the precinct. I’m in a storage closet now. I heard them asking around for me while I was in the file room. They _know_. The FBI and Homeland are on their way.”

“Alright here’s what you’re gonna do. First, you need to hightail it on outta there. Do you have the names Tony wanted?”

“Yeah.”

“Alright, get out. Meet us in the alley off 5th street. Got it? We’ll bring you back to the Tower.”

“Okay, just be quick about it. I don’t think they’d let me out on bail if I get caught.”

“Just hang tight, Spangles.”

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you guys enjoyed! Lemme know you're thoughts. Sorry if it felt a bit rushed at times. There was just so much to include and I didn't want to draw it out any longer than it had to be. Plus I wanted to get it up tonight, so yeah. Thanks for reading!
> 
> Love you! XOXOXO


	30. Chapter 30

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright guys... 
> 
> Here's the fluff I've been promising ;)

Tony is awoken by a series of persistent vibrations wrapping around his right wrist. He stirs and grumbles in irritation as he tries to move, but finds he’s weighed down by bodies on either side of him. He cranes his head, blinking his eyes in a sluggish attempt to clear the bleariness and he just so happens to catch a glimpse of the two wild mops of hair; they both need haircuts. Peter’s practically on top of him, just as he usually is. One leg hiked up around Tony’s waist and an open hand was splayed against the side of his neck. 

Harley, though, seems to have some semblance of personal space. The kid was curled in on himself, facing Pepper, and has kept his hands to himself. The only form of contact was his back lightly brushing against Tony’s side and his Tony’s right arm tucked under the pillow beneath the kid’s head… which was the exact arm he needed free to cease the buzzing on his wrist.

The vibrating doesn’t stop and Tony groans in frustration as he does his best to quell his irritation and maneuver himself out from under the two kids without waking them up. Once he’s sitting on the side of the mattress, he sorta rolls Peter away from the edge so he wouldn’t end up falling off while he was asleep and hurting himself. 

Tony yawns then twists his wrist around to glance at the screen of his watch. 

Rhodey was calling… Then he frowns and glances around the room in search of his phone, wondering why the man insisted on a holo-call instead of a regular one through his cell.

His body slouches in exasperation when he realizes he must have left the device somewhere else and he groans, finally succumbing to his exasperation as his head lolls forward and he bends at the waist to press his forehead to his knees. Was Rhodey really incapable of running things without his help for less than a full day? This was supposed to be a vacation, which meant not having to be bothered with work.

He grumbles under his breath and leaves the room. As he walks down the hall, he lifts his wrist and rubs at his eyes with his other hand as he answers Rhodey’s call. 

“You better have a damn good reason for waking me up from my comfy as all hell cuddle pile at 4 in the morning,” Tony grumbles, glancing at the blue holographic display of Rhodey’s face. He was sad to say that it looked to be one of Rhodey’s more serious faces. _Shit must have just gone down._

“We’ve got a situation Tony.” Rhodey answered. Then the image is expanding to reveal another man by the name of Steve Rogers. _Aw hell… why was he always right?_

“Hey Stark,” the man greeted, looking stony and very much unamused.

Tony paused in his trek and allowed his confusion to do a full circle before asking his loaded question. “What’s going on?”

He eventually reaches one of the many lounge rooms scattered through the upper floors of HQ and he immediately transfers the holo-call from his watch to video on the widescreen TV in the room. He stands within view, hands on his hips, and a frown on his face.

“This evening I snuck into the precinct to find information on the two snipers and their arrangements for protective custody. I found a hard copy of their file since all case files regarding you aren’t allowed on the online database. I was gonna go make copies so they wouldn’t realize anything was missing. I was on my way to get to the copier room and I heard talk in the bullpen of Reilly asking for me. Apparently, the FBI showed up again for my evaluation--”

“And,” Tony interrupted impatiently, gesturing for Steve to hurry his story along and skip over the boring details. “I don’t need every detail Rogers, just tell me what happened.”

Steve’s face fell into an unamused frown as he continued with a slight bite to his tone.

“Basically, someone told Reilly they found video surveillance of me in the file room. One thing led to another and now they’ve got all they need to tie me to your case and label me as an accessory to you and arrest me for treason.”

“But you got the file?”

“Yes, Tony, I got the file,” he held up a manilla folder beside his head to prove his statement, looking irritated with Tony’s careless dismissal of his career-ending predicament. 

Tony felt a small tingle run down the length of his arms. A trill of either anticipation or fear crawled up his spine as he glanced behind him to double check he was alone in the room. “Where are they?”

“They’re at a safe house at the North border of Jersey. I don’t know for how long though. Now that Reilly knows you have access to their location through me, he’ll be transferring them as soon as possible.”

“Okay,” Tony nods stiffly. His nose twitches with a quiet sniff and he looks away from the screen to contemplate his next course of action. This was big. These guys were meant to testify against him, _and_ they have information on whichever bastard must have hired them to take a hit at his kid. “Okay… I’ll get the jet ready to leave this morning. I’ll leave Pepper and the kids here at HQ the couple days I’m gone. I want you to get down there and bring ‘em to one of my cottages upstate. I’ll take care of them there--”

“Tony you can’t.” Rhodey instructs with a firm shake of his head. “You’re on vacation for a reason. We’ve got this.”

“Rhodes, this isn’t your decision! This is my top priority. This is more important than anything else I’ve got going on right now. The vacation can wait.”

“More important than your family, huh?” Rhodey retaliates, raising a brow and fixing Tony with one of those dumb looks he hates so much.

“Don’t twist my words,” Tony growls under his breath. “This is important. These men know something. If they’re not connected directly to Hydra they must be connected down the line because very few people have the balls to so openly attack me and my family like that. It’s personal now. _They’ve made it personal._ ” 

“Tony it’s not worth it, believe me. Just stay in Italy with Pepper and the kids. I’ll take care of this. With Reilly and the Feds on high alert it won’t be such a good idea to come back right now anyway. And you know Pepper would wring your balls if you got arrested when y’all were supposed to be having happy family time in your hometown.”

Tony didn’t like it. He didn’t like it one bit. He hated it when Rhodey made good points because, well, those good points tended to change his mind on important things. 

“Maybe you can just hold ‘em. Hold them until I get back so I can talk to them myself.”

Rhodey pauses for a moment then shakes his head. “Tony, that’s not gonna work, you know that. If there really is somebody out there trying to kill Harley and it _isn’t_ Oscorp - which I don’t think it is - I think we need to know about it before you guys come back rather than after. It’s safest this way.” 

Steve remains uncannily silent as he quietly observes their argument.

Tony scowls and lifts his hand to comb fingers through his knotted hair. He relents and makes a final decision, deciding not to fall for Rhodey’s guilt-trip. “I’m just gonna come back tonight. I won’t be gone long; the boys won’t even miss me they’ll be having so much fun.”

“Tony that’s really not--”

“Daddy?” A tiny voice pipes up from across the hall.

Tony swivels on his heel to see Peter barreling towards him with a bright grin split across his face, still decked out in the giraffe pajamas Tony dressed him in last night.

“I found you!” Peter shouts with a celebratory squeal as he leaps at Tony, knowing the man would catch him.

“That you did, Pete,” Tony chuckles, hoisting the boy up further in his arms so they were face to face, Peter’s legs hugging his waist. 

Peter doesn’t pay any attention to the two men on the screen, focusing solely on Tony as he lifts his hands to Tony’s face to squish the man’s cheeks together between his palms and scratch his fingers along his prickly facial hair as he babbles.

“Can we have panca’es for b’eakfast! I wan’ panca’es. Bu’ not now! Cuz I not hung’y yet. Oh oh an’ bacon too! Can we get bacon? Ha’ley says it’s a pig’s butt!” The boy giggles at his own words.

“Yeah Pete,” Tony sighs with a roll of his eyes, “we can have pancakes and pig butt for breakfast.”

Peter laughs harder, then his face suddenly turns stern as he lectures Tony on the specific details needed for his breakfast. “But only the way Mama makes it though! The-the-the ones with a chocolate smile an’ eyes an’-an’ mickey ears! And then bacon as whiskers!”

“Oh, Mickey mouse ears and bacon whiskers are a must, huh?” Tony smiles.

“Yeah,” Peter nods sagely with a sigh as if he were truly exasperated with the unneeded complexity of life.

“Well, I’ll make sure to pass on your instructions to the chef. Now why don’t you say hi to Uncle Rhodey and Captain Spangles?” Tony gestures with his head to the TV screen and Peter swivels around in his arms.

“Oh! Hi Uncle Rhodey!” He waves his hand with much more energy than a child should have so early in the morning and Rhodey waves back. Then his gaze casts over to the unfamiliar man standing beside Rhodey and he frowns for just a moment as he tries to recall him. “And um… Hi, uhh, C’ptain Sprinkles!”

Tony throws his head back and laughs and Rhodey tries and fails to hide a small chuckle behind his hand. Steve didn’t seem too amused, but Peter was beaming brightly at making his father and uncle laugh and he cluelessly laughed along with them.

“Well, Captain Sprinkles. Looks like you’ve just earned yourself a new codename. Good job Pete,” Tony kisses the side of the boy’s head and Peter happily returns the gesture by throwing his arms around the man’s neck and nuzzling into his cheek.

“Now, it’s kinda early. Why don’t you try and sleep a bit more--” 

Rhodey of course takes the opportunity and pounces before Tony can send the child back to bed.

“Watcha gonna do today Pete?” Rhodey interrupts with a smile. Tony throws the man a scathing look and Peter happily jumps into his excited rendition of the day’s plans Tony had listed off to him last night before bed.

“We’re gonna see the new house today! I got my own room and Daddy say I can make it look how whatever I want it to be! An’-an’ he says we gotta big _huge_ yard with-with-with tons of trees and grass! And it’s green all over too with flowers an’-an’ maybe some cool bugs.  An’ he said we can maybe even go near the lake and look at fishies in the water! Then-then there’s a _pool_ too. An’-an’ we’re gonna have _sooo_ much fun t’day. I so e’cited!”

“Is that right?” Rhodey muses with a dramatic gasp. A soft smile spreads across his lips as he listens to Peter’s list of fun things he was looking forward to, most of which seemed so menial and insignificant to anyone that wasn’t a four-year-old and hadn’t been cooped up inside a building in New York his entire life.

“Yeah!” Peter grins, head bobbing up and down so quickly he could be mistaken for a bobble-head. An’-an’ guess what?” He whispered, leaning closer to the screen and cupping his hand around his mouth as if he were about to tell a dramatic secret. 

“What?” Rhodey indulged with a matching conspiratorial whisper. 

“Daddy say we can even see stars here. In the sky. So many of ‘em too. Like-like he say that they’re like as many stars as there are lights at home. That’s _so_ many.” Peter nods seriously, eyes bugging out as if he couldn’t quite believe it himself. “An’ planets. _Planets_ Unc’e Rhodey. I might get ta see a planet tonight. Isn’t that crazy?!” His face scrunches up in imitation of an adults exaggerated befuddlement of something so sensational or surreal, and his hands lift to throw in the air just to add to the theatrics.

“Wow,” Rhodey whistles, turning his head to Steve as if to share a look of amazement with him. “That’s so crazy Peter. I’m so jealous.”

“Yeah. It’s gonna be so cool. Right Daddy?” Then Peter’s gaze is turning to look back at Tony and Tony can’t help but smile. 

He hadn’t ever seen Peter as excited for something like this before… and it warmed his heart thinking his kid got excited at such a trivial thing like looking at the stars and playing in the grass. It reminded him of why he enjoyed this country so much as a kid… because he was actually allowed to be a kid… when his father wasn’t around to spoil his fun at least.

“Well, it sounds like you guys got lots to prepare for today…” And Tony knows it’s a jab at him to guilt him into staying even though Rhodey was still looking at Peter. And Tony’s gotta admit… Rhodey knows how to handle him, because after seeing Peter so wonderstruck he’s going to have a hard time leaving and missing out on seeing the look on Peter’s face when the kid sees his first real night sky. “And Tony… I just want you to know that I’ve got this, alright? I promise everything will be taken care of just how you’d want and I’ll record every second of it for you.”

Tony doesn’t respond. How was he supposed to respond after being played so easily? It was sad, really. Rhodey knows his weakness and he doesn’t hesitate to use it against him… _damn that man_. So, he adjusts Peter in his arms, so he’s propped up against his hip then ignores Rhodey’s statement then turns to Steve.

“Get in contact with Sergeant Barnes. If you’ve been compromised it won’t be long before he is too. If Ross finds him out, he’ll be in much more trouble than you Rogers. For the time being you’re welcome to stay in the Tower and so is Barnes if he needs a place to hide out.”

“Thank you, Stark,” Steve responds.

“No problem... _Captain Sprinkles_ ,” Tony teases with a husky chuckle. Steve scowls at him and Tony laughs again. “And Rhodes… keep this on the down low. I don’t need everybody and their mother knowing about what’s goin’ on with these goons, especially if they’ve got an in with Reilly.”

“I won’t Tony. I’ll take care of it.” 

The three men offer stiff nods as they’re customary farewell, but Peter waves sporadically. “Bye-bye!”

“Bye Pete. Have fun,” Rhodey finishes with a smile before signing off.

Tony sighs low and deep as he slowly turns away from the blank TV screen with Peter still in his arms. “What’s got you up so early Stinker?”

Peter giggles and lays his head on Tony’s shoulder. “I just woked up and wasn’t tired no more.”

“Ah, I see,” Tony nods. He pauses in the hall, contemplating whether he should head back to bed and force Peter to lay down and try to sleep a couple more hours… or maybe he could just drop the boy off in his room amongst all his toys and let him have at it while he went back to bed.

“Can we do somethin’ fun?” Peter asks, tugging on the collar of Tony’s night shirt. “Just us while Ha’ley and Mommy are sleepin’ still?”

Well there goes that idea.

_Why does he have to be such a pushover?_ His father would have had no problem saying no to such a request like that… although, he would have known better than to ask for anything of the sort. Heck, he’d never _want_ to do anything with the man. So, he supposes his inability to say no to his kid’s wanting to spend time together was a good sign he wasn’t turning out like his abusive sperm donor. 

His kid _wanted_ to spend time with him. _‘Just us_ ’.

“Sure, Bub, what do you wanna do?” He puts a hand over his mouth to cover a wide yawn and he glances out one of the windows to see the sun hadn’t even bothered to rise yet.

“I dunno,” Peter quips, twisting in Tony’s arms to glance around the dark home for an idea of something to do. “Can we go outside now?”

“The sun hasn’t even woken up yet, kiddo. It’s still dark outside. Why don’t we read one of your books or play with one of your new toys?”

“Well when does the sun wake up?”

Tony glances down at his watch and squints at the display. “Should be soon probably…” Then an idea hits him and he turns his head to look at Peter’s face. “How about we watch the sun come up, huh. It’ll be really pretty.”

“Yeah!”

So, that’s how Tony found himself reclined in a lounge chair on the third-floor balcony. Pete sat in his lap, back pressed to his chest as they both looked out towards the horizon lingering over the city skyline. Wisps of oranges and pinks littered the sky and blended into the dark blues and purples settled above where a few specks of stars could be spotted through the morning hue. Peter had yet to say a word as he stared out at the pretty colors, fists hanging tightly to the fingers of Tony’s hand braced against his small chest. It was peaceful and quiet. No hustle and bustle like there would be in New York… it was home, and the wave of relief and pleasure that wafted over Tony only further solidified his unsure decision to stay.

“Daddy?” Peter whispered into the quiet, chilled air of the early morning, gaze never deterring from the view as his eyes glistened with childish wonderment. “What makes the sky so pretty?”

Tony pauses a bit. Not in thought, because obviously he can understand and explain the concept of Scattering, but more so in appreciation for the child’s undying curiosity. He lifts his free hand to gently comb through the boy’s hair, clearing the mess of curls from his forehead as his fingers gently work their way through the knots with care. Then Peter’s head falls back with a thump as he settles it just beneath his father’s chin. “Well,” he muses softly, searching for the proper way to explain such an intricate idea to a four-year-old toddler. “Different colors are made in the sky because some light waves from the sun have to travel farther to meet our eyes than others.”

Peter twists his head to stare up at his father with a cute furrow between his brows. Then he asks the forever dreaded question of “why?”

So, Tony tells him. He tells him about light waves, wave lengths, the Earth’s rotation, and its orbit around the sun. How and why there is day and night and how the sky changes its color when the sun shines on the atmosphere at certain angles. He thinks Peter might actually be catching on, but then--

“Look!” Peter shouts, sitting up. That way he’s no longer reclined against his father’s chest so he could better see the sun creeping above the rooftops. “There it is! You see it Daddy? You see it?!”

Tony chuckles, low and deep within his chest as he braces one hand against the boy’s waist, so he doesn’t topple off his lap in his excitement. “I sure do, Bug. It’s pretty isn’t it?”

“So pretty,” Peter breathed with child-like astonishment. Then he huffed dramatically and threw his arms in the air as he fell back against Tony’s chest with a satisfied sigh as if all goals in life had finally been accomplished after the one encounter. “So, so pretty.”

The comfortable silence returns as father and son watch the sun slowly rise further into the sky. And then Peter had another question.

“Daddy?” Tony hummed in acknowledgement and Peter continued. “What’s the other language word for pretty?”

“Bella,” Tony answered softly, hand gently rubbing down Peter’s chest and stomach in slow, comforting strokes.

“Hmm,” Peter hummed, arms wrapping around his own waist to hug Tony’s hand and arm closer to him, “the sun is so bella.”

Tony chuckles, dropping his head just a bit to kiss the top of his son’s crown. “Try saying _‘il sole è bella’_.” He says each word slowly so Peter can hear each sound. “That means the sun is beautiful.”

Peter repeats the words slowly and carefully, still just a bit distracted by the bright colors painting the sky. Tony helps him sound out the words and soon the boy’s repeating it, over and over and over again.

Soon the sun has risen enough for Peter to lose interest and he’s pressing Tony with more questions that only a toddler could think to ask. _Why don’t stars make the sky pretty too? Why doesn’t the moon shine like the sun? Why is it sometimes there and sometimes not? Is the moon really made of cheese? How do planets float? Is the Earth heavy? Are aliens real?_ And the questions just don’t seem to be stopping anytime soon. Tony feels like he may have sparked a bit of an obsession in the boy… but he answered each question as simply as he could, but some concepts were just too difficult for Peter to grasp, which led to a strenuous succession of ‘why’s?’ and ‘how’s?’, which only leads to further questions and more confusion.

Once they’ve hit the question of “how big is space?” Tony gives up. That one question would only certainly lead to an entire new slew of questions… and he needed some coffee before he even tried to muster the patience.

“How about we talk about this when Dad’s more awake, huh?” He sighs, tightening his arm around Peter’s waist as he slowly stands from the chaise lounge chair. He groans when his back twinges in discomfort. “Let’s head in and see if Mama’s awake. She might want some breakfast.”

“Yeah!” Peter agrees with a bright grin. So, Tony sets the boy on his feet and the child sprints back the way they came.

* * *

“You got all our bags?” Tony asks Clint as he hands the man Peter’s duffel bag to stuff in their trunk.

“Yes, and the rest should be in the Towncar we’ll be following you up in.” Clint affirms, stuffing the last bag in and closing the trunk.

Tony nods and turns to try and usher his family into the car. Thor was regaling Peter with a story as he marched up and down the stairs with the boy perched on his shoulders. The two had bonded quickly that morning when Thor and Loki joined them for breakfast. And Thor had even kept the kid entertained with his toys while Tony went around and assisted Loki with a few quick management-type things that needed to be taken care of before he left. Pepper insisted that they needed at least one full week of no work so they could relax and bond and do whatever other dumb shit people did when they were on vacation. 

Harley stood near the door, back erect as he stood beside Loki, doing his best to appear stoic and unimpressed to mimic the man beside him. And, boy, the child looked so small standing beside that Tower of a man that Tony nearly laughed. 

“Alright, boy’s, hop in the car. Harley, help Pete into his car seat while I go get your mother.”

With that he bounded up the steps and passed through the wide doors, more than ready to head out and get settled in their new home. At the other end of the foyer he sees Pepper walking alongside Cho with her bag over her shoulder and an easy smile on her face. 

“You ready, Pep?” Tony asks as he quickly approaches to loop his arm through hers as added support. 

“Of course.” She answers, chasing his face to grace him with a chaste kiss. 

Tony smiles at her then turns to the woman walking beside them. “We have a small cottage set up for you near our house, Dr. I’d like you there some time tonight in case there is an emergency.”

Helen smirks at him and rolls her eyes. “I suppose I’ll indulge your paranoia, Stark.”

Tony frowned at her, unamused. “It’s not paranoia, Cho. It’s called precaution. I’d rather not have my only trusted doctor thirty minutes away if there happens to be an emergency.”

“Ok, stop bickering,” Pepper interrupted, swatting Tony’s chest with the back of her hand. “I’ll be fine. Now, I was just talking to Cho about the fake DNA tests and blood work on the boys and she has it all done and ready to go. So, I’m having Natasha stay back to fax the papers to Happy so he can get it to our lawyers. They need to make sure everything is in order well before your court date. So, Cho will bring her up to the house with her when she comes up.”

Tony shoots her a weird look. “Faxing? What is this, the 1500s? Why can’t she use email like a normal human?”

Pepper rolls her eyes at him and pushes away from his hold to walk forward on her own. She slowly descends the steps, taking Thor’s offered hand as she descended the bottom two, and the man helps her into the passenger side of the car. 

“Don’t question a pregnant woman, Stark. I thought you would have learned that by now,” Cho chuckled. “She and the baby are doing fine by the way. Keep her off her feet the best you can for the next couple days though. She’s tired and she’s too stubborn to admit that yesterday’s travelling wore her out.” Tony nods, listening intently to the woman’s instructions, then the good doctor turns on her heel to head back inside. “I’ll see you tonight, Stark. Call if you need anything else.”

Tony drove the car twenty minutes into the countryside, following behind the Towncar Asher Clint, and one of Cho’s trusted nurses were riding in. The boys oohed and ahhed at the scenery as they passed. They had probably never seen so many trees in their entire lives which was just sad and did nothing more but spur Tony’s determination to make this the most memorable trip ever.

“Alright, we’re here!” Pepper cheers as they start their way up a long gravelly driveway. They passed what looked to be a couple small residential buildings along the way and a barn of sorts way in the distance near a wide-open field. 

“Oh wow!” Peter shouts as he strains to look out the window. “It’s so bella!” 

Tony throws his head back with an exuberant laugh and Pepper turns around to look at Peter with a confused, yet amused quirk to her brow. Harley gave him a weird look too. 

“What was that, baby?” Pepper questioned softly.

“È così bello, Peter,” Tony corrects softly with a small grin on his face as he glances back at the child through the rearview mirror before Peter has a chance to repeat his words.

“È così bello,” Peter repeats slowly, with just a bit of a slur and a confused scrunch to his face.

Pepper beams and is quick to praise him. “That’s right Peter. It is very beautiful.”

Soon they were pulling to a stop in front of a beautiful home decorated in stone and large wooden beams. Tony could feel the excitement from the children in the backseat as the two Munchkins chattered eagerly at the sight of their new home. And he should have expected it, but it seemed almost like as soon as the car was put in park the back doors were being swung open as Harley dragged Peter out of the car to approach the house. They didn’t go in… instead they ran around the side, already off to explore the enormous amount of land Tony had insisted on for not only their privacy, but for a bit of a change as well.

Tony chuckled under his breath and stepped out of the car. He caught Clint’s eye and nodded his head in the direction the kids had taken off. “Keep an eye on them Barton. Make sure they don’t wander too far.”

Clint obeyed and turned to follow after the boys. Then Tony stepped forward and held open the back door for the nurse Cho had sent ahead of them, he held out his hand and helped the petite woman out of the car. She looked to be barely in her twenties. 

“ _Good morning, Ma’am. I’m afraid I didn’t catch your name before._ ”

The woman’s face flushed, and she bowed her head in proper respect as she took Tony’s hand and exited the car.

“Elena, signore.” She whispered, avoiding his eyes. 

Tony smiled at her shyness and lifted her hand to gently kiss the back of it in a polite greeting. Then he clapped his other hand atop hers and gently squeezed. “ _It is very nice to meet you Elena. Would you please help my wife get settled in the Master bedroom? Thank you. I appreciate it._ ”

He caught sight of her blush and he let go of her hand, smiling smugly to himself. She then rushed to the passenger side of his car and began helping Pepper out of the seat despite his wife’s insistence that she was capable of doing most of it herself.

He waited for both women to enter the house before turning to Asher who was busy unpacking their luggage from the trunk. “McAlister,” he snapped with an authoritative firmness, “A word?”

The man paused and stood erect, facing Tony with his hands at his sides. “Sir?”  
Tony stepped closer and looked up at the man who stood a foot taller than him.

“You’re a good soldier. I understand why Hogan sent you with us… but I want to make one thing clear.” His eyes narrowed threateningly. “You and Harley have had trouble in the past, and I’d just like you to know that if I so much as catch wind of another incident I will most definitely be playing favorites. Is that understood?”

Asher nods, lips pursed together tightly. “Yes sir. I had no intention to harm or offend Harley in the past, and I do not intend to do so again.”

Tony smiled, bright and friendly, a complete turnaround from his earlier demeanor. “Good man. Now why don’t you take those to the appropriate rooms and begin unpacking for the boys. Then you can take Clint and get settled in your new quarters.” He points to a smaller residential building several yards down near the orchard. One they had passed on the drive up to the house. 

“Yes sir.”

* * *

After dinner Cho shows up with Natasha. Natasha heads out to the barrack suites down the drive while Cho helps Pepper to her room to administer another check up on her and the baby and to make sure she settled in okay. So, Tony took the boys back outside like Peter had been begging him to do all through dinner. 

They had had fun earlier. Tony had taken Clint’s place early in the afternoon after he knew Pepper was settled and things around the house were taken care of. He had taken the boys down to the lake where Peter had gotten a bit too intrigued with the squelchy sound the mud had made beneath his stomping feet… _and there had gone his brand new pair of sneakers_. They toured the grounds together, getting acquainted with the layout of the land and the long trails through the forest behind the house. It had been nice… and apparently neither boy was finished with their day of exploration.

So, they revisited the woodlands, and then the orchards, and the closer it came to sundown, the more hyper Peter seemed to become. Tony began to suggest calling it a night and start on baths and showers in hopes the child would mellow and conk out after the long day, but that did nothing more than set Peter off in a panic. 

“Noo!” Peter screamed, lunging at Tony’s arm and tugging angrily. “No!”

“Peter,” Tony scolded gently, “what’s the matter?”

“I don’t wanna go inside.”

Tony sighed. He could already tell that bedtime tonight was going to be a chore even despite how exhausted he’s sure the child is after waking up so goddamned early. He knelt to the ground and grabbed Peter’s shoulders so the boy couldn’t attempt an escape. “Well, you’re gonna have to go inside at some point. Look at you. You’re coated in nature. We gotta wash that all off.”

He heard Harley chuckle from behind him then quickly wrapped his arms around Peter and stood with him when the kid tried pulling away. It ended with Peter giggling maniacally as Tony threw him over his shoulder and walked back to the house with Peter swinging upside down behind him. 

The trio entered the home and Tony immediately called out for the nurse, who practically appeared out of thin air at her summoning. “ _Ready a bath for Peter please. Bubbles and Toys. And set out a pair of pajamas on his bed too if you will._ ” 

“What’d you tell her?” Harley questioned as he watched the petite woman scurry down the hall. He was still clueless to the language despite Tony’s meager attempts to teach them words here and there throughout their time outside and even through dinner, like fish, tree, grass, bread, or bird. It wasn’t a very extensive lesson and Harley’s mind was already spinning with all the new words being thrown around. 

“I just asked her to get Peter’s bath ready. I still gotta show you where your room is and I wanna see the look on your face when you see it.”

Yeah… the kids had barely come inside for food, let alone to see their rooms. Both were far more fascinated by the world outside, which Tony supposed was more than okay.

Harley’s eyes widen comically and jumps right into step behind Tony as the man manhandles Peter back into a normal hold, and soon they’re approaching a spiral staircase at the far corner of the house. Harley’s brows wrinkle in confusion and Tony can only smirk as he gestures for him to follow as he slowly ascends the staircase, ducking his head as he reaches the last couple steps.

The room is old and rustic, and it needs a bit of work, but it’s cool. The ceiling slopes up into a point as most attics do and the bed is tucked into the right wall adjacent to the front window overlooking the orchard. A couple pillars line the middle of the room and the wooden beams cross over them, giving way into a small loft area opposite the window. The area is huge. Harley’s mouth drops when he sees it and Tony beams.

“You like it?”

Harley doesn’t really say anything right off, and then Peter’s wiggling in his arms, begging to be put down. Tony obliges and the kid immediately rushes to the window to gaze outside, little hands pressed to the glass. Tony rolls his eyes and grabs Harley’s shoulder, pulling him towards his bed where a small box wrapped with a ribbon sits waiting. 

“I’ll take your stunned silence as a yes,” he snarks, grabbing the gift and shoving it into Harley’s hands. “Here. Here’s a little something. Open it.”

“Tony, you didn’t have to--”

“I kinda did,” Tony interrupts with a shrug of his shoulder. “Open it and you’ll see.”

Harley only hesitates for a moment longer before he’s tearing open the gift with enlivened fervor. 

“Woah,” he gasps as he picks up the fancy accessory between gentle fingers. “Is this--”

“Yep. State of the art Smart Watch. Or Stark Watch if you really wanna call it that, since I did technically manufacture it myself. It’s just like mine.” He holds up his right wrist to show off the matching piece of technology. “I use it whenever I come here since JARVIS doesn’t run in HQ or the house yet, really. So, this right here is a way for you to get into contact with him, and me also since your phone is still back in New York.” Then Tony taps the screen twice and calls JARVIS’ name. The AI answers immediately as the screen lights up.

“Good evening Master Harley. I hope you have enjoyed your stay in Italy thus far. Everyone back home dearly misses you including Mr. Hogan.”

Harley laughs and grins before answering JARVIS. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool out here. And tell Happy I say hi I guess.” Then he looks up at Tony. “Thanks,” Harley breathes softly, slowly beginning to strap it on to his own wrist. 

“No problem kid. I’ll let you explore all the fun things you’ve got on there. I got one for Pete too… just with a few more restrictions and a lot less willy-nilly freedom. Plus it’ll give me a bit of peace of mind,” he reaches over to help the kid fasten the device, “it keeps track of your vitals and it’ll alert me if you’re hurt or freaking out.”

Harley grimaces. “Mm… a little less cool.”

Tony laughs. “Alright, kid. Go get a shower. Most of your clothes should be tucked away in your dresser, and I think Mama bought and shipped a whole new wardrobe for you out here so we can bring it back with us. Then when you’re done, and Pete’s done with his bath we can go outside for a few moments to catch a glimpse of the stars before bed.”

That caught Peter’s attention. “We gonna go see stars now?!” He rushed away from the tiny trinkets he was nosing through and jumped at Tony, arms raised and insisting he be picked up.

“Yes, but after your bath. Alright?”

And that right there was bribery… and Tony finds that, yes, he very much likes bribery.

Later that night Tony, after Tony gives into Peter’s demands to be dressed in his rocket themed pajamas and not the Scooby-doo ones the nurse laid out, both boys took their turns saying goodnight to Pepper and giving her a hug, or in Peter’s case, a big kiss on both cheeks before Tony led them outside. 

He carried Peter in one arm and a large sheet and several blankets in another for the chill that was sure to come as the night grew later. Peter’s already wiggling violently in his arms, squealing, and shouting as he points wildly up at the darkening sky. Several stars peak through, many more than what typically adorn the New York sky, but the porch light is still on and so are several other lights lining the drive and other pieces of the property that interfere with a proper view for stargazing. So, Tony chuckles, already anticipating the craziness that’s about to happen when Peter gets a _real_ look at the galaxy.

He slowly sets Peter on his feet when they reach a nice clearing in the grass and drops the load of blankets into Harley’s arms as he sets about laying out the sheet on the ground. There was no need for the boy’s to get any more nature in their hair or pajamas… 

He smooths out the corners and slowly sits down with a small grunt. Peter’s quick to join him. The kid’s at his side in a flash, pushing his body flush against Tony’s in an excitable hug as he squeals. “Look’it ‘em all Daddy!”

Tony looks up, and there sure are a ton of them. He sometimes forgets to appreciate these small things when he comes to visit. Sure, when he was a kid, this was one of his most favorite things to do with Domencio or his mother. Just sit and watch the sky all night in hopes of catching sight of a shooting star so he could cling to a superstition he didn’t believe in and make a silly wish. It was always the same wish… but now… he’s happier than he thought possible being able to share something so simple with his kids, because it’s something they’ll remember for the rest of their lives. He sure as hell will. 

So, he slowly leans back on the sheet, one arm tucked behind his head as he stared. Then he turns and gestures for Harley to join them on the sheet. There was more than enough room for the kid to have his own personal space, yet he still looked nervous as he took a seat a foot or so away from Tony’s other side. 

Once the kid is sitting Tony lifts his hand to his mouth and releases a loud, sharp whistle that breaks through the serene silence. “Barton, Lights!” He calls out, then a second later all the lights slowly flick off, one by one at his command, and then they’re cast in a blanket of darkness. Then, their eyes adjust and it’s almost like an explosion as the skies become clear and it seems almost as if they were peering into the heart of the Milky Way.

“Woah,” Harley breathes with a small chuckle under his breath as he stares. Then Tony looks at Peter to see the boy’s reaction, and he isn’t disappointed. The boy’s mouth hangs open, eyes glossed over as the starlight glistens in his big Bambi eyes.

He kinda hopes the boy’s sudden fascination with all things space doesn’t fade any time soon. 

They stay like that for a while. Tony just absorbs the tenderness of the moment, wishing Pepper were well enough to join them, and he closes his eyes and breathes in the fresh air. He listens to the crickets and cicadas and the soft chirping of frogs from the lake. It’s peaceful and Tony doesn’t think the figurative weight resting on his shoulders has ever been so light. Then, there’s a tangible weight laying on his left shoulder and one on his right that quickly follows it. He opens his eyes just in time to watch as Harley pulls a blanket over the three of them and the boys huddle closer to him for warmth. 

It’s silent and peaceful and Tony’s grin is so big it’ll definitely hurt in the morning and he thinks he just might be able to go to sleep out here under the stars. 

“This is really cool Tony,” he hears Harley whisper from beside him and he turns his head to see the boy’s eyes had slipped closed in the midst of calmness of the night. Tony responds by squeezing the boy closer to him and lifting a hand to pet his hair softly. 

“Tell us ‘bout the bella stars, please.” Peter requests in a whisper, tiny arm slinking over Tony’s chest to hug their bodies closer together. 

Tony thinks for a moment, sighing deeply as he reopens his eyes and gazes up at the twinkling lights for a spark of inspiration. He hums for a second then smiles as he slowly begins regaling them of the history of the different constellations, he would patiently help them point out in the sky. 

By the time he pointed out all the constellations he could remember, he was hoping Peter would be satisfied, but apparently not. Every time he slowly finished one of the stories, he’d feel an insistent tap on his ribcage and Peter’s whispered demand for “more”.

And that’s how he found himself going all deep and philosophical, which he had been deliberately avoiding to escape that endless rabbit hole of ‘why’s. He’s pretty sure Harley must be bored out of his goddamn mind, but at this point he was more set on boring Peter to sleep so the kid wouldn’t be all cranky in the morning. So he spoke softly and slowly, enunciating each syllable with the delicacy of a lullaby, hoping his soft tone and slow voice would pull the boy into a deep sleep.

“You know what I love about the stars?” Tony whispered into the night air.

“What?” Peter asks in an even softer whisper, voice giving away his curiosity and anticipation. 

Tony turns and presses his nose into the boy’s wild curls. He smelled like Watermelon… 

“When you’re looking at the stars you’re seeing what happened in the past.” He sorta pokes Peter’s side to emphasize his dramatic whisper and Peter is completely in awe with his words. 

“Really?” 

“Yep,” Tony smiles, remembering his reaction was similar when his mother told him the same thing. Then he tilts his head up to try and find one of his favorite stars… and he spots it, then lifts his arm to point. “See that bright star up there at the corner of Auriga? That one’s named Capella and that little guy is over forty lightyears away from us. And that means it takes forty whole years for its starlight to reach us here on Earth so that we can see it. So, as we lay here right looking at him, we’re actually seeing it when he was forty years younger.”

“Wait really?” Harley interrupts. He props himself up on an elbow and shoots Tony a look with a dubious raise of his brow. 

“Yeah. That’s what light year means kid. Some of these stars we’re looking at can be from like hundreds of years ago. Some of ‘em could’ve already burned up and died by now, or the opposite. There are some that we can’t see just because the light hasn’t had enough time to reach us.” Tony smiles and looks between the two kids with a mischievous pump of his brows. “So if you really think about it… if there are aliens out there by Capella and they’re looking at us right now, then they won’t be seeing us right now. They’d be seeing us forty years ago. Which is what… when I was just a kid like you two.”

“Aliens are real?!”

Well so much for boring him to sleep, Tony thought.

“Well, no. It’s just a ‘what if’ Peter. There’s a very good chance that aliens don’t exist.”

“Well I think they do,” the little boy declared, arms crossing over his chest as he slowly stood on the sheet and looked at the sky. “Hi Aliens!” He shouts at the top of his lungs and Tony chuckles. “When you see me I’m gonna be as old as my Daddy! But my name is Peter!!” He raises his arms in the air and giggles before falling back to his knees and collapsing on his father’s chest and cuddling close.

“I’m sure they’ll get the message forty years from now…” Tony could practically feel Harley roll his eyes and he chuckled. Then he checks the time on his watch and-- _oh boy_ , well Pepper’s going to kill him in the morning. “Okay boys. It’s getting late--” Tony starts. Peter already seems to know what’s coming and he whines, hugging the man’s waist tighter. 

“Noooo,” he whines petulantly, doing his darn best to keep the man from sitting up. 

“C’mon Pete. We got all month to look at the stars. Maybe we can even get a cool telescope to look at ‘em better. Now up you go.” He swings the boy up into his arms and Peter grins at the prospect of the man’s offer. Tony helps Harley gather the sheet from the ground and they make their way back to the house in the darkness.

He tells Harley to dump the blankets and whatnot onto the couch then head up to bed. 

“Do you want me to come up and say goodnight?” To which the boy adamantly shook his head before fleeing towards his room.

Tony chuckles and carries Peter to his room, across from his and Pepper’s. He gently tucks the covers over his body and smiles down at him. “Goodnight Petey. Go to sleep.”

“But I not tired yet.” Peter immediately whined, arms lifting towards him as his face puckers in a cute pout.

“It’s time for bed Pete. You must be tired after playing outside all day and waking up so early.”

“Noo,” he whines again, little lip jutting out as if he were about to force himself to cry. “Please. Tell me more ‘bout space, Daddy.” 

Tony wants to be upset. He wants to be frustrated and exasperated with Peter’s new obsession, but he can’t help but find it amusing and adorable. So, he smiles to himself and crouches beside the bed. He lifts his hand and gently combs it through Peter’s hair. “You’re just Daddy’s little space nerd, aren’t you?”

“Mhm,” Peter grins, nodding his head enthusiastically and blinking lethargically as he reaches out to hold Tony’s hand.

Tony obliges and takes the boy’s tiny fingers, rubbing his thumb along the back of his knuckles as he quietly thinks of a simple and sweet story about space that he wasn’t totally pulling out of his ass… 

“Alright Bub. Settle in, cuz I’m ‘bout to tell you the tale of a sweet lonesome dwarf planet named Pluto.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ok so this chapter's very much a filler chapter, but who cares? As long as y'all enjoyed it ;) 
> 
> I plan to spice things up just a bit more next chapter. We're gonna have a bit more history about Tony's childhood and the relationship he had with his parents. Domencio will also be making another appearance because I love him. And I want to include both Clint and Natasha some more but I'm still figuring that part out. So hopefully things all go according to plan lol. Of course knowing me... who knows what's gonna go down next chapter. 
> 
> So lemme know your thoughts, theories, and ideas. You know I love hearing from ya and Stay safe out there guys. Love y'all to pieces!


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